Deliria
by Cetanu the Wraith Master
Summary: Alice Lily Potter thought her seventh birthday was turning out to be the worst one yet. At least it was until a gift given to her long ago begins to unwrap itself in her mind and changes the course of her miserable life. The Wizarding World is not prepared for what is to come. Fem!Harry, Dark!Harry, Slythern!Harry. Currently in Second Year at Hogwarts.
1. Part 0 Chapter 1 - Happy Birthday, Alice

**NOTE:** I do not own Harry Potter or related intellectual properties. That happy privilege belongs to J. K. Rowling.

 _ **Deliria**_

 **Part 0**

 **The Birth of Deliria**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Happy Birthday Alice**

Alice Lily Potter thought that she had never had a more miserable birthday in her entire life. This was quite the achievement, since she had never actually had a pleasant birthday experience, as far as she could remember. She vaguely held the belief that her first birthday must have been good, but that might have had more to do with her working out that such a birthday would have been before she came to live with her aunt and uncle. Despite the drunken freaks her parents must have been, she always wanted to imagine they had at least thrown her a fun birthday, even if she couldn't remember it.

Her second birthday she couldn't recall either. She vaguely recalled her third birthday, but at the time it had simply been any other day to her, and it was much the same for the fourth. It was only when she neared five that she learned she had a birthday. When she so much as mentioned overhearing that, she received her first and so far only present in her life: one of her uncle's old socks. She had refrained from mentioning her own birthday with her family since then.

Her sixth birthday had been only full of chores, chores and more chores, not that she was not used to doing chores by then. But today was her seventh birthday, and it was the worst one so far. Her cousin Dudley was usually enough trouble on his own, but the summer had seen the worst of his bullying in her memory. Every day, his friends seemed to come over, and every day they would engage in Alice Hunting. Most days, she was fast enough to get away, or was able to avoid trouble by being forced to do chores, but not today.

Today she had been caught, and found her arms pulled behind her back by Piers Polkiss behind the house. She had been terrified, of course, but it was not the first time, and she knew it probably wouldn't be the last, closing her eyes and bracing herself as Dudley's fat fist was pulled back. She usually got hit in the face, because Dudley liked targeting her glasses, but today he decided to start differently.

The hit to the gut knocked the wind out of her, and her eyes snapped open from the shock of the blow. Dudley's pleased grin at her look of pain quickly turned to surprise too as he went flying backwards and landed on his backside over two meters away. Alice blinked in surprise, an odd tingling sensation in her chest as the other boys stared confused. The distraction allowed her to pull out of Piers' grasp and make a run for it. She wondered if she had reflexively kicked him or something, and was elated.

That feeling of elation would not last on this, the worst of birthdays, for when she returned home it was to very angry guardians. Aunt Petunia had slapped her silly on her return before returning to holding a possibly really this time crying Dudley and holding him as though protecting him from some vicious monster that broke in the house. Uncle Vernon had brought out a cane.

But the time she was locked in the cupboard under the stairs that, she would have been grateful if she could think of anything but pain and crying. Of course, she had to cry as quietly as possible, as too much noise would make them punish her more, and she could not risk further wrath. She knew now it must not have been a kick, but another of her freakish events, because she recalled hearing Uncle Vernon shout it was so with every smack.

Alice knew, deep down, her treatment was unfair. It had always been unfair. It was unfair she was the only child in class who didn't know what a hug felt like, or that she had never so much as received a smile for her good grades. She knew something was wrong every time her Aunt Petunia seemed so furious with her every time their eyes met, even when she wasn't doing anything wrong. She knew it was unfair she didn't have friends just because Dudley's Gang scared anyone from even trying to be nice to her.

But she had heard it often enough that her freakishness was her own fault, and so had come to believe that all the horrible things that came with it were her fault too. If she were not a freak, no one would hit her, her family would like her at least second best to Dudley, and she would have friends. "Must be nice to be normal," she whispered to herself sadly.

"Ha!" came a cold, high laugh that sounded distant yet somehow right in her ears. Surprised enough by the voice itself, Alice almost didn't notice the tingling feeling that seemed to pulse at her forehead. "There's nothing nice about those 'normal', worthless muggles, dear."

Alice did not jump at the voice, but craned her head around to the door. Was someone outside talking to her? That seemed rather odd, but they had responded to what she said. Deciding to chance the possibilities, she spoke up. "Hello?" She cringed slightly at the question in her voice, knowing it was never good to ask questions. The Dursley's had always told her not to.

The was a quiet pause, and she started to think she had imagined it. This was also bad, because the Dursley's also told her to never imagine any-

"You can hear me?" The voice was softer this time, but just as clear as before.

Alice found herself nodding, despite knowing there was no one around to see her. When she realized this, she answered. "Yes." She began to realize the man, she was sure it was a man, sounded like an adult, and thus had to be some friend or customer of her Uncle Vernon. She had not remembered him preparing for any sort of dinner party, but now that she had spoken she knew she was in trouble. When guests were over, she was supposed to be quiet and pretend she didn't exist.

The voice was silent for a few moments, and she thought the man might have decided to ignore her, or had missed her reply. Then, suddenly, he spoke again, this time with a kinder tone of voice. "Well, my dear, it a pleasure to meet you." Alice was stunned, as no one had ever told her anything like that before. Pleasure did not go together with meeting Alice Potter, who if she was ever noticed was nothing but a freak and hooligan according to everyone else. "This is traditionally where you would return the greeting in kind."

"O-oh," murmured Alice, still too shocked to quite get her head together. "H-hello, it's… It's nice to meet you, Sir."

There was a chuckle, and it almost sounded like the voice was becoming a bit closer, or perhaps it was more just louder? "I tend to prefer 'My Lord' to 'Sir'. But then, you would have no way to know that, with how you were raised."

She most certainly wouldn't have, considering she had never met a Lord before. She knew what they were, of course, but had never even so much as seen one. "Sorry, my lord."

"That's perfectly fine, Alice, now that you have been corrected." Yes, the voice was definitely much more pronounced now, as though the man was right in front of her in the cupboard.

"You know my name, my lord?" Alice seemed to be in for a lot of surprises.

"Yes, I know just about everything there is to know about you, Alice," said the voice, and despite the high pitch, she could almost see in her mind's eye the image of a charming smile of a gentle man looking down at her. "And I suppose you should know mine as well. I am Lord Voldemort, and think it is best to address it now that I am speaking to you within your mind."

Alice did not know exactly how to take that, and started to get the feeling she might have gone a little mad from the pain or something. "In my head?"

"Yes, and before you think it, I don't mean that I am a figment of your imagination. You see, I am actively trapped in your head, and have been since you were just a baby left on your aunt's doorstep."

Alice was still not sure if this was just her going crazy or not, but something about the man's voice made her want to listen anyways and let herself get dragged into that flow. "How did you get there, my lord?"

"Well, I suppose that story will need me to establish a couple of details. First, I am a wizard." Alice's eyes went wide despite not really being able to see much in the darkness of the cupboard. "And you are a very young witch. This means we can do magic."

"But…" Alice hesitated, not wanting to contradict the friendly lord, but unable to ignore years of her uncle's words being beaten into her head. "Uncle Vernon says there's no such thing as magic."

"Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia say a lot of stupid things," said Lord Voldemort coldly, and despite his harsh tone that made Alice laugh. She had also always thought her Aunt and Uncle could be stupid about things, but never had the courage to say so out loud. The Lord's tone seemed to soften at that. "They decry magic but claim you have freakish abilities that they so fear that they would try to beat them out of you. Those muggles are very much beneath you, no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise. There is no reason for you to accept their words anymore."

Alice thought on that. Yes, she thought, that would explain her freakishness. She had only just today sent Dudley flying when he hit her, after all, and one could easily describe several of her little incidents as magic. "I suppose that could be true," she conceded. "Oh, what is a muggle, my lord?" He had said it a lot, especially when referring to her aunt and uncle, so Alice thought it might be some sort of dirty word she hadn't heard before. At least, Lord Voldemort used it like it was a dirty word.

"Muggles are what those two would consider 'normal' people. People without magic. That of course makes them quite inferior to us who have magic." Alice nodded at that. "Now, as to how I got in here… Well, I was doing a bit of magic near you and it pulled me out of my body and into yours. Not quite sure how exactly it happened, but there it is."

"Oh, that sounds terrible," said Alice, sure that if she was to be stuck in anyone's body that any other body would be better than her own. "Is there any way to free you?"

"There might be," said the Lord. "But only with your help, my dear."

"Oh, I don't know if I could be really helpful," she said, modestly, though such modesty had only really come from being constantly looked down upon.

"Oh, but you can. In fact, you, Alice Potter, are the only one who can help me. And I am the only one who can help you, in return."

Alice paused thoughtfully. "… Help me how?"

"The same way you can help me. I can teach you magic, and with the magic I teach you, you can help me." He paused, allowing her a moment to take that in. "You of course have done some accidental magic, but I can teach you control. I know life has been hard on you, thanks to those worthless muggles that make up your family. I can show you how to defend yourself. I can help you never go hungry again. I can help you never get hurt again. And in exchange, you can help set me free."

Never before had Alice been given so tempting an offer, and it did not take her very long to decide. "Yes, please," she whispered like a desperate wish to the stars above.

There was a cool chuckle in her mind. "Very good, then I think it's time for a first lesson," said the Lord Voldemort. "We should start with unlocking doors so you can get yourself something to eat, I think. But before we begin… Happy Birthday, Alice."

Suddenly her birthday wasn't looking so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2 - Happy Anniversary, Tom

**Chapter 2**

 **Happy Anniversary, Tom**

Time seemed to fly by for Alice as she began to learn from Lord Voldemort. It had taken some time to master things like unlocking her door, but quickly she was learning about many more things she could do. Every night, as the Dursley's went to sleep, she would sneak out, get something to eat, and then spend hours and hours listening to the Dark Lord, as he sometimes enjoyed being referred.

He taught her how to move objects with nothing but her own willpower, how to change an object's color, and how to control animals around the neighborhood. As time went on, he did not keep his lessons merely to practical spells, and shared his great wisdom and knowledge of the wizarding world. It all sounded so amazing, a secret hidden world where the special kept away from the lesser world of Muggles. She found herself dreaming of the day she was able to join that world in full, and escape the Dursleys entirely.

Lord Voldemort promised all that and more. He promised a day would come when she would rise up to great heights, and he would be the one to guide her there. With so many years of being looked down upon behind her, the young girl was all too eager to rise above the lows that were her life before her lord stepped into her life.

Her time with Lord Voldemort was so much fun that she didn't actually want her so called 'punishment' from the Dursleys to come to an end. Sadly, before school began, she was let out and made to work on her chores. However, this just proved to be more time for lessons, since the Dursleys rarely oversaw her work. The Dark Lord even showed her one little trick that helped keep Dudley's Gang away, and every time they tried to find her and got close when she was working, they would just seem to forget what they were doing and rush off to do something else.

Even school was made better by the Dark Lord, because he would whisper his own lessons to her that were much more interesting then anything the teacher had to say. For once, she was just as uninterested in her fellow students as they were with her, all her thoughts on the voice in her head and the magic at her finger tips. Olivia King teasing her about her glasses, or her awful clothes, or anything else couldn't snap her back into the muggle reality.

And so it went, as she continued to grow in power and confidence under the tutelage of her one and only friend, and all her problems with the present seemed to wane before the promise that was the future.

One Saturday morning, or rather Halloween morning, she awoke to a strange prickling sensation in her scar. She had long gotten use to the tingling sensation when the Dark Lord spoke with her, but this particular sensation was new. She opened her eyes, and looked around curiously, and what her eyes found shocked her.

Crouched beside her bed (if it could actually be called that) was a man. Like her, he had black hair, but it was much more neat and smooth. He had a rather handsome sort of face, and a charming smile. But the thing that drew her focus most immediately were his red eyes that seemed inhuman and powerful, radiating with confidence and pride beyond measure. "My lord?" she whispered, because for some reason those eyes instantly made her believe this man could be no one else. They were also oddly familiar.

"The one and only," he said, smile never wavering. She was able to take in more of his appearance now, noting that he seemed about in his late thirties or early forties, and wore black robes, though how she could tell that in the darkness of her cupboard was beyond her. "It seems I've figured out a way to visually represent myself to you. How do I look?"

"Incredible, my lord," she whispered in awe. She tried to reach out and touch him, as he looked so real, but found her hand phasing through him.

"Alas, I'm not yet able to fool the rest of your senses," said the ghost of a man living in her head. "Though considering how far we've progressed, I am sure I'll find a way soon enough." Alice smiled at that, now dreaming of the day she could get a pat on the head for a good day's work. "But this is at least a good anniversary present, I think."

"Anniversary?"

"Yes, six years ago today was when I became attached to you." Alice smiled widely at that. It seemed Halloween had just become an even better holiday for her.

Alice had always thought Halloween was an amazing holiday, despite never getting to celebrate it herself. As the Dursleys loathed imagination and adolescent hooliganism (as long as it was committed by everyone except Dudley and his gang), they hated everything about Halloween. In hindsight, they probably hated Halloween because it was the one day of the year every other muggle seemed to revere everything magical and witch-like in the world, something that was an affront to their magic-hating sensibilities. But Alice liked seeing the costumes outside, and dreamed of what it would be like to go out trick-or-treating with…

"Were my parents… like us?" She had always avoided asking the Dark Lord about her parents, not even sure if he knew them or not. He had never gone into much detail about the accident that had gotten him attached to her in the first place.

Lord Voldemort looked thoughtful at that for a moment. "Yes," he said at last. "You will find they are another thing your worthless Aunt and Uncle have often lied to you about. They were certainly no drunken idiots." Alice stared at him, wide eyed and eager to hear more. "They were powerful and talented. High marks at Hogwarts, and very brave. I truly do have to commend them on their courage most of all."

Alice's heart was filled with pride for her parents that she had never been able to cultivate before. So they weren't drunk, they were amazing. If even the Dark Lord had to praise them for their courage, she could easily see them as heroes she had always fantasized could have been her parents. "But… if they were a Witch and a Wizard, how did they die in a car crash?"

The Dark Lord stared at her blankly, before a high, cold laugh escaped from him. For a moment, Alice thought his smile had become a touch more cruel, but he quickly gained control of himself again. "Sorry, my dear, I forgot just how much your living family has lied to you about the reality of the situation," he said. "They did not die in a car crash."

For some reason, more than all the other lies, that one got a real anger to rise from deep in her chest, charging the air and making it warmer. "Those… THOSE… Muggles…" she growled to herself. For some reason, she thought her mentor's smile became a touch warmer at her rage.

"Yes, well, one day soon, we'll be showing those muggles the error of their ways together, Alice," he said, in perhaps the kindest tone of voice he had ever taken with her. "I promise."

Alice smiled at the Dark Lord, believing every word of that promise. Just one more thing to look forward to in their bright and happy future.

The rest of the day went almost like any other Halloween, with her aunt and uncle trying to distract her from everything wonderful and cheerful about the outside world with chore after chore. Of course, they had found that lately chores seemed to take up less and less of her time, as she had begun to use magic to speed up the process when they weren't looking. They were struggling with ways to keep her out of experiencing any of the Halloween spirit, short of just locking her in the cupboard for no reason.

Alice had become very careful about giving them reasons. There were no more freakish events, as far as they were able to see, and she and Dudley had not gotten into another scuffle since last time she was locked in the cupboard. While the Dursleys were generally horrible to her, they often liked to think they had good excuses for doing so, and without those excuses they had difficulty justifying keeping her from simply going outside and watching people go about in those ridiculous costumes.

Finally, Alice found herself able to slip away from their watch and going off outside. She took particular interest in watching what muggles thought Witches looked like, and looking at her mentor she began to think they might actually have it pretty accurate, though real robes looked far more regal then most cheap Halloween costumes.

When she eventually returned to her cupboard, enjoying the last of the day, she whispered dreamily. "Happy anniversary, my lord."

And then she fell into her dreams in a way she never had before. She had many dreams before, and one in particular that seemed to come back over and over again was something about a green light, though she never could remember the details. In fact, she often forgot most of the details of her dreams, but the one she had this Halloween night was particularly clear and detailed.

It was Halloween night, and after apparating in, Alice had allowed a child to pass by him, thinking he was only wearing a costume. A smile spread across him as he walked toward the house he had been unable to so much as perceive without a certain rat's words. Alice had his wand in his hand, before opening the gate and moving towards the front door, his eyes flashing towards the window to see a man staring back in shock and horror, before it hardened into a determined expression as he turned towards a woman and yelled something at her. Alice did not take any chances, his wand rising to ward the area against apparition. He then pointed it at the door, a silent bombarda blowing it open before he entered.

James Potter called out some inane insult, trying to distract Alice from his true prey. He barely paid the man a look as his wand locked towards the sound. "Avada Kedavra," he spoke, and the man who had thrice escaped his wrath slumped to the floor, unmoving. But Alice did not care… Yet she did. Something was breaking deep inside Alice at the sight, but she couldn't make herself react physically as he glided up the stairs.

Behind a closed door, he could hear a baby crying. Another silent bombarda and the door split apart, revealing a woman in front of a crib, staring at Alice with fear beyond imagining. For some reason, that look of fear was utterly priceless, and made Alice laugh in a high, cold voice. And yet, at the same time, she was trying to do everything she could to stop herself. He did not stop.

"Not Alice, not Alice, please, not Alice!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl," came Alice's high voice. Alice could at least tell Severus that he had tried. He raised his wand again. "Stand aside now." It was a command, one chance to live.

Her eyes were awash in tears that streamed down her face, and the begging didn't stop. Alice continued to laugh at her even as she begged for mercy for her only child. "Avada…" Alice noticed a change in his victim just as the he was about to kill her. Their eyes locked together, those fierce green eyes locked to his red ones, and he could feel a fierce determination and magic swelling deep inside her, charging the air around them. "Kadavra."

The green light of death ended her stare as she slumped to the ground. Whatever last minute defense she had been trying to muster, even without a wand, it had not worked. Alice stepped over her body and toward the crib of a crying child. The child's eyes were as green as her mothers, and this was the first time that Alice locked eyes with Alice.

And Alice remembered. Those red eyes, that laugh, that face like a white snake in black robes. She remembered it all. One last time the wand was raised, and that deadly spell was spoken before terribly pain engulfed them both.

Alice awoke with a cold sweat across her body. "… Accident… My lord?" she whispered.

He appeared in that visage he had made to seem more friendly. "Now, Alice, I can expla-"

"Explain?" she whispered, but her fury made the words reverberate in the mind of the Dark Lord stuck inside her. Magic seemed to spark in the air. "No need, my Lord." She spoke the last word like a curse, those green eyes meeting the red once more, but now that determination was much more like her mothers then like the crying child too confused to understand why her mum was laying down and wouldn't move again. "You… killed my parents. You are the reason I am here… All of it… It's because of you."

The Dark Lord looked at her quietly, her fury sizzling the air before he closed his eyes and shrugged. "Well, I tried to do this the subtle way," he said, before opening his eyes again. His appearance change in an instant. The handsome man was gone, replaced by the more snake-like visage he had in life. A sharp pain came from her forehead and into her head, followed by a squeezing sensation. It was like a snake tried to coil around her brain and tried to squeeze it to death. Even further, it felt as though he scar was on fire.

Alice tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. "Just stop fighting, Alice," the Dark Lord Voldemort whispered softly. "Everything I've promised will come true. You will be more powerful then you could possibly imagine, and I will be free at last. Just give in, and let me take over. Alone, you were powerless to even stop a family of muggles, you must know that you'd be better off letting me handle the rest of your life."

Alice had not felt so helpless since the first night she spoke with the Dark Lord. She could feel herself giving in, Voldemort creeping into her mind and taking every last branch of self control she had. She couldn't speak, could only hear what he wanted her to hear. She felt helpless, not even able to feel like she could put up a fight. But there was an image in her mind.

Mum staring down the Dark Lord Voldemort with those fierce green eyes despite knowing she was about to die. Why hadn't she stepped out of the way? She could have lived, instead of wasting her life begging to a man who knew no mercy, if he was even a man at all by then. But that made another question pop in Alice's head. Why had that worthless, crying child that had been herself survived when the Dark Lord did the same to her?

"Mum beat you," Alice realized, out loud. The Dark Lord blinked, unsure how he had lost his grip on her, and rapidly finding that grip loosening further. "She looked that way because she knew she could stop you. She won."

Yes, her mum really was a hero. Alice stared at the Dark Lord who had been trying to seduce her into being his puppet for months, and realized he was… Weak. "No wait… She's still winning." Alice began to push that mental image towards her scar, and Voldemort hissed as though in pain, his visual representation appeared to smoke and blister all over. "She's still winning, and all I have to do is finish the job."

Alice clutched her head, and met the burning pain with her own determination and the strange sensation thinking of her mother's last moment of victory gave her. The battle of wills began to make her feel more. She could feel Voldemort now. He felt so… small. Petty, arrogant… Weak. She pushed this strange power against him and felt him cracking under the strain.

"Alice!" he screamed, his own fear showing. Yes, she could feel it now, he was very afraid of meeting his own end, despite having dealt it to so many others without a care. "STOP! If you do this, you'll be alone again! You don't want that!"

That did make Alice pause. Despite her righteous anger, somewhere inside her, she did want to keep the friend and mentor who had taught her so much and made her feel special, even now knowing it was a trick. But as the pressure continued to crack at the Dark Lord, Alice could feel him more clearly. She met him with a cruel smile, as cruel as his own had been to his mother six years ago. "Scared, Tom?"

A fury rose from the Dark Lord at that name, and suddenly he was trying to push back. "THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" he screamed.

Alice felt something crack inside herself at this backlash, though it was nowhere near the damage she was doing to Tom Riddle now. "Happy Anniversary, Tom," she mused, as she broke him apart. She didn't destroy him, not even sure if she could destroy him really, but she did break him. She began to pick up the pieces. "You were right… I don't really want to be alone again." And she wouldn't be, he was still there, just in too many pieces to struggle.

Alice Lily Potter was too young and in too strange a situation to realize what exactly happened to her as their magics stopped struggling and she passed back into sleep, mentally clutching onto the pieces of soul she had just shattered. She had no idea how much damage souls could do to each other when fighting, nor what would happen afterwards. In fact, Alice Lily Potter never knew anything again, because she never woke up again. At least, not as the girl she used to be.


	3. Chapter 3 - Rebirth

**Chapter 3**

 **Rebirth**

"Who am I?"

It was a rather simple question, but a complicated series of answers came to her. A stream of answers appeared before her, as though written in fire.

Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord. Freak. Girl.

She considered these first names that popped. "No, no, those don't feel right at all," she murmured. "First of all, I am a Lady, not a Lord."

Lady Voldemort. The Dark Lady. Lady Freak. Lady Girl.

She giggled lightly at the names. "The Dark Lady can stay for now, but I need… more." The other names began to disappear, but new names came up.

The Dark Lady. Alice. Lily. Potter. Tom. Marvolo. Riddle.

"Ugh, what a common name, Tom… Take that one away."

The Dark Lady. Alice. Lily. Potter. Marvolo. Riddle.

She stared at the names now. "Definitely feel like an Alice," she decided. The name Alice rose above the others, and turned green. "And the title, I am most definitely a lady." Lady Alice. "Good." She continued to think deeply on the other names, and a figure appeared in her memories. "Yes, the old fool had a lot of names too, didn't he? Yes… Yes… that would feel right. Lady Alice Lily Marvolo Potter Riddle."

The names came to there now proper order and turned green together, and Alice Riddle smiled at her own name. It seemed to make the swelling mystery that was her mind become clearer, as memories began to become clearer. The girl who had been unsure who she was now knew her name, and the rest seemed to become clearer. At least, she initially thought it was as the memories came flooding back to her.

Her time at the orphanage, her time at school, working for a short time, before preparing to take over the wizarding world and bringing war upon those who stood in her way. Everything had been going so well until a prophecy brought her to… Oh, right, attacking herself. That little discrepancy in her memories made her lose her sense of identity again as the memories shifted to her younger memories.

Attacking herself, growing up abused, watching annoyed as the child that brought her low was getting worked like some house elf making her victory over herself even more absurd… Yes, this was an odd identity crisis she was having.

She wracked her brain trying to figure out how this worked, how she could remember being two people. Finally, she came up with an answer. "I am not Voldemort." This seemed obvious, since she had already thrown that name away. "I am not Tom. I… didn't grow up in an orphanage… I haven't even grown up yet." She looked down at herself, and sure enough, she did not visualize herself as an adult. She was a child, with childish desires.

But then, why did she remember being in an orphanage and growing up? "Obviously, I inherited the memories," she answered herself. Yes, that would explain it. And now she came upon something important, and the thought hit her hard. "Who are my parents?"

Four figures appeared. One of them was cast in shadow, because no part of Alice could remember what Merope Gaunt looked like. But Tom Riddle Senior was easy enough to identify, and Alice scowled. "No… No, neither of them are any parents to me…" Her mindscape swirled the images together and Lord Voldemort appeared before her, just as he had been six years ago. "… Yes… Yes, that makes sense, I'd have to have gotten the Riddle name somewhere, surely? Yes… That makes perfect sense." Or at least, it made sense enough to an Alice trying to construct her identity from two cracked souls swelling inside her body.

Alice Lily Marvolo Potter Riddle had three parents. There were her blood parents, James Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans, and then there was her spiritual parent, Tom Marvolo Riddle. She had inherited everything Tom Riddle ever was. She was his heir in all but blood. She was something of a reincarnation of Tom Riddle at the same time as she was different from him. Everything great about him was part of her, but of course Alice was sure she would be able to do better than the Dark Lord Voldemort ever could.

Yes, now that she thought it, she could practically feel her own persona begin to solidify. That was her spiritual father's pride, the knowledge and certainty that she would be the best. No one would ever rise that could be a challenge to her. After all, she was the one born with the power to defeat the Dark Lord, so she was the only one in the world greater then Lord Voldemort.

No, that couldn't be true. Her thoughts flashed to her mother's defiant last gaze. "If Tom Riddle was the greatest wizard in the world, then Lily Potter was definitely the greatest witch." That statement brought a swell of further pride, but also confusion. Lily Potter was a mud- muggleborn. She would never allow herself to think of her mother with that dirty word, but surely she can't have been a muggleborn if she was so powerful? Nothing coming from muggle blood could possibly be so…

"Muggleborns and Halfbloods are not inferior to Purebloods." Perhaps Lord Voldemort had always known that somewhere in his head, but his hatred for his muggle heritage had smothered the fact from being considered. Or perhaps old Tom had thought he was an exception to the rule? The more she came into her own identity, the less Alice could seem to remember what exactly went on through Voldemort's head, and began reviewing his memories from her own point of view. How the now incredibly clever child and how Voldemort had viewed his past were two entirely different things, as thoughts flashed over the 'friends' the Dark Lord had kept over the years.

This would take a lot of time, shifting through what had become of her mind and memories, carefully constructing herself. Such delicate work should not be interrupted.

Unfortunately, the screeching voice of Aunt Petunia waking her up did just that, and a little girl the wizarding world knew as Alice Potter awoke with a start. She stared at the door, thinking of the people she would find beyond. She barely realized she was being ordered to do something, cooking probably. Her stare was blank as she raised her hand and the door began to open on its own.

She walked into the kitchen, a swell of memories and confusion, looking about as though seeing the place for the first time in her life. Was this place really where she lived? She had never thought before how odd it was that there was not one photograph of her in the house. She also noticed how very small she was, and felt weird walking on her own two legs. Perhaps having memories of being very much taller would have to take some getting used to?

Indeed, thinking on it, her own body felt alien to her. She had a lifetime of memories being tall and male. More then that, she remembered having a radiating magical power in every step, the feel of robes clinging to her body rather then this worthless hand-me-down muggle garbage Alice Potter had been forced to wear. Alice Riddle had a different standard, surely. Yes, the new Alice was not going to be getting used to these rags the Dursley's dared to have her dress in.

This thought brought her eyes to her aunt. Something cold seethed inside Alice's heart as she studied the long necked horse of a woman. Uncle Vernon was just coming in behind her, and taking a seat that made the chair strain under his weight. Staring at them both was eventually noticed. "Don't stare," ordered Aunt Petunia.

Something hot clashed with the cold feeling, but did not fight with it. The two feelings met in a terrible union that spread through her body. Alice's lips spread in a chilling smile, and felt as though her blood boiled while her skin became ice. Aunt Petunia flinched, seeing something terribly frightening as she began to tremble. Uncle Vernon now took notice of Alice. "What are you smiling-" he said before he choked. Alice's eyes turned from her aunt to meet her uncle's, seeing a similar fear rise in him.

"Oh, what's wrong, my _dear_ family?" she asked, the cold lacing her false friendly tone that spoke of danger and death. No child should sound like that.

"What… What freak thing are you doing with your eyes!?" demanded Vernon Dursley, trying to reassert his authority and cast aside his fear. He was not the sort of man to be intimidated by these freakish tricks, or so he believed.

Alice blinked, the icy mask shattering into genuine surprise. "My eyes?" she replied, her voice now much more normal of a curious child. She looked away from them, raising her hand towards a drawer that shot open and sent a kitchen knife into her hand, ignoring the gasps of shock from the worthless muggles. She raised the reflective surface to her eyes and stared. All she saw were two green eyes of her mother staring back at her.

The most genuine smile of childish adoration came to her face. She really did have her mother's eyes, despite having to hide them behind these ridiculous glasses. They were utterly beautiful, and for the first time, Alice thought there was something she truly liked about her appearance besides her scar. Her eyes drifted back to the Dursleys. "What was wrong with my eyes?"

"Never you mind!" cried Uncle Vernon. "Now cease this freakishness-" He became silenced as the knife was slammed down into the table, and nearly jumped back in shock as those eyes glared daggers that felt as though they were stabbing straight into his soul.

The cool smile was back on Alice's face now that she had their full attention. "I think there shall be some new rules in this household," she declared. "And we'll be throwing out all the old ones I used to have to live by. Like 'no questions'. The new rule is 'When Alice asks a question, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon will answer with complete and total honesty, and never lie.' Now, let's try again. What was wrong with my eyes?"

"Th-they turned red," whispered Aunt Petunia. "A-and the… the… Pupils…"

"Slitted like a snake?" asked Alice, thoughtfully. Her Aunt Petunia could only nod. So, she had gotten a bit more from good ol' Tom then just memories, then. She wondered what else she got? That would be something she would have to learn to control, it would not due to have the eyes of Lord Voldemort every time she got angry with someone. "An issue for later," she murmured to herself before returning her thoughts to the Dursleys. "Now, I wanted to talk about something very important. Tell me again about the 'car crash'."

Aunt Petunia looked as though her bones had been chilled as she shook at the way her niece spoke, the threat there. Petunia Dursley knew in her heart that somehow the girl had found out. She knew. Vernon, however, was not willing to accept a new status quo so easily. "We told you, those drunkards-"

The knife flew out of the table and soured straight towards Vernon Dursley, stopping right in front of his face. It was so sudden that he flew backwards in shock, trying to avoid the knife. "Now, now, Uncle Vernon, I told you not lie," Alice teased, giggling almost like a child, if a child could be as cruel as a mass murderer Dark Lord. "I will always know when you are lying to me now. I already know every lie you've ever spat at me, you worthless waste of fat."

The stunned silence hung in the room for minutes as the fallen Dursley looked into the hateful eyes of a magical child. The knife slid back down towards her hand, as she began to study it, a more genuine smile coming to her face as she relaxed. Bella had always liked knives.

"My father was Lord James Potter, a brave auror and head of the Noble House of Potter," she informed the Dursleys, not knowing if they ever even knew that much about the man they had spent years besmirching to his only living heir. "My mother was Lily Potter nee Evans, the greatest witch of her generation, if not the greatest witch who ever lived. They did not die in a car crash, they were killed in a war for the future of Britain, if not the world."

Her eyes met Petunia's once more, her smile turning into a disgusted frown. "Your sister was a war hero, and you told me nothing but hateful lies about her."

"W-war hero?" she replied, bitter jealousy built over years slicing past her fear of the situation. "M-my sister was a freak who got herself blown up for-" She yelped and jumped back as Alice jumped up on the table and pointed the knife in her direction, eyes like blood that seemed to call for hers.

"My mother killed a man who would have conquered the country and achieved immortality if not for her, you WORTHLESS MUGGLE!" screamed the girl, the cold mask now shattered by a furious fire. "Your kind would be slaves to the Dark Lord by now if it wasn't for my mother! Your government would have been nothing but helpless puppets, moved to position to wage a quiet war of conquest on the entire world." That seemed to shut her aunt up, at least for the moment.

The kitchen door opened, and Dudley Dursley stared slack-jawed at the scene in front of him. "W-what are you doing to mummy?" he cried, but Alice barely glanced in his direction with so much as a sneer as her free hand raised towards him and magic sent him flying back to the ground.

"Nothing to do with you, Dudders," said Alice calmly. The Dursley parents screamed, causing Alice to wince in irritation, especially with her Aunt's shrill voice. "Oh relax, you morons, I only knocked him down, hardly a life threatening injury." Alice rolled her eyes at the horror that played on their faces. Not long ago, Alice Potter had been afraid of these worthless creatures. Knowing that frightened little girl had once been herself was rather humiliating for the new Alice. It also quickly came to her mind that another difference was forming between herself and Lord Voldemort, in that the fear she brought to these enemies so far beneath her did not bring her quite as much pleasure as it would have brought Tom. It had certainly brought her some pleasure, of course, confirming she had gotten some sadistic tendencies from him, but realizing just how far beneath her they were felt like she was doing something wrong.

Morality had never been something Tom Marvolo Riddle much considered in his own actions, even as a child. He had only developed so much as a sense of what he could get in trouble for doing, and how to avoid getting caught doing it. He had even often declared that he did not believe in the concepts of Good and Evil. Alice, however, not quite emotionally prepared to deal with her own feelings on morality merely felt as though she were hurting something like a puppy, helpless to stop her, and that made her feel bad. Not too bad, because she would certainly derive some pleasure in Ripper getting a kick or two, and the Dursleys much more so, but that was all she was prepared to do. For now.

When angry, she had been sure she would be killing the Dursleys, perhaps sparing only Dudley, but now she realized she likely wasn't going to kill any of them. They were just too far beneath her and too helpless to warrant such a thing. This did not seem to please the new half of Alice's personality, so she spent several quiet moments mentally justifying sparing the Dursleys. After all, she had nowhere else to live (thanks mainly to Voldemort ruining every home that had belonged to the Potters) and it would be suspicious if she went missing as the Dursleys turned up dead. Alice sighed and jumped down from the table, feeling her anger dying down. "Now that we've established a new order to things, I'm going to go take a walk, give myself time to think," she said, her voice perfectly normal and even, as though none of this had happened, and it was just some ordinary day. "I expect I'll be back by lunch, at the very latest, to discuss how things will proceed from now on."

Her smile had her aunt cringing, and Alice noticed a little jolt of pleasure at that. Alright, so frightening to death was now a bit beneath her, but a little tremor was still fun. Oh, how she would have to spend some time dealing with what her new self was like. With one last look at them all, she walked out, jumping over Dudley before heading out the front door.

Alice pocketed the kitchen knife, finding overlarge clothes actually did well to hide it. She found herself walking toward Magnolia Road, and stopping at the playground there, taking a seat on a swing and becoming deep in thought. She was the only one there at this time of day, though surely she would be joined by other children soon enough as the morning dragged on.

That was another strange thing Alice noticed about herself, she still thought of other children as being other children, despite memories of an older man in her brain. And yet she still felt awkward in her own body, as though she expected to be older? She was definitely turning out to be an odd child. Some might even think she was a freak.

Alice laughed at the thought. "Maybe I should embrace being a freak," she whispered to herself as she glanced around at the houses that were so much like Private Drive's houses, the cars that were awfully similar to the Dursley's own car. "Normal always did give me the creeps anyways."

Her thoughts drifted back to her fledgling sense of identity. Now that she was calm and thoughtful, it seemed easier to shift through the memories, including those of the old Alice as well as Tom Riddle's. It all started to feel so clear and complete. She began to realize what must have happened that night, so long ago. Lily Potter must have used ancient sacrificial magics Lord Voldemort had never put much thought into to spare her daughter from the murderous Dark Lord. The Killing Curse could not pierce the defenses and rebounded on the castor. Of course, the horcruxes did their job at keeping Voldemort anchored to this world.

From there, Alice could only speculate, but she assumed the combination of magics, and perhaps the weakened state of the Dark Lord's soul after being split into so many pieces, had created some sort of vacuum effect for what was left of that soul. Or perhaps the Killing Curse had left such a bond that Tom Riddle's soul had nowhere else to go while it was lost, detached and confused at his new state. The protective magics of her mother must have kept the souls divided while still bound together. And last night, her magic combined with her mothers protection to shatter what was left of the Dark Lord's willpower and absorb his soul into herself.

And so ended the reign of Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord since Grindelwald, if not even greater. "Except his horcruxes are still out there," Alice whispered. "Or rather… My horcruxes." The mysteries of Soul Magic began to dangle around in her mind. One thing about Voldemort going so far, further than anyone else would go, for his immortality was that Alice knew her situation now was very much unique. Nothing like it had ever happened before, and it was terribly unlikely to ever happen again.

So, were the Horcruxes now making her immortal? Or if she ever died, would it leave the pieces of Voldemort's broken soul to linger on after her? Could the Dark Lord be reborn in spirit if she were to die? That thought made Alice grimace. Well, that could not be allowed to happen, so she would just have to follow Tom's footsteps and ensure she became immortal herself.

Could Alice actually make horcruxes on her own, or would Voldemort's soul be part of her own horcruxes too? Alice knew that with one horcrux, she could finally complete the set Voldemort had always yearned for. "I don't really want to live my life fulfilling Tom's ambitions," she whispered disdainfully. As she thought about her third parent killing her first two, she felt an anger growing inside her. Yes, she did not want to be Tom, she was better then him.

That brought her mind to other dangers from Tom's horcruxes. She remembered that the Horcruxes themselves could make a comeback for the Dark Lord. It would not do if she ever had to compete with her spiritual siblings for her life.

"Fine, I should destroy them," she decided, but quickly grumbled over the decision. So many rare and valuable trophies going to waste did not sit well for the collector in her. But she had a thought then, and smiled. "Unless I can rip the soul pieces apart like I did with the one I have." Was that possible? She knew that a soul could be reforged, supposedly by remorse for the actions that created the horcrux in the first place. But perhaps there were other ways to tear the souls out of the objects Voldemort had bound to him?

This could take a while, she knew, but she had plenty of time. Now with a goal in mind for the future, she brought her thoughts back the present. She realized a couple of things about her current situation that only became apparent when she had let her magic simmer down.

Alice Riddle was only a little more powerful magically then Alice Potter had been. She had Tom's strong control of his underage magic, and probably a bit of his magical power helping hers along, but now as she was still, she knew she had already used half her reserves in that little show of force with the Dursleys. Impressive for a child, not impressive for a Dark Lord. She frowned at that, realizing she was going to have to grow into her magic again, like most children. Of course, she had a head start on most magical children with an impressive understanding of wandless magic in her head. She was going to be ever so impressive to the magical world when she finally entered it.

And what had become of the magical world since the end of the Dark Lord's reign? His followers had not come after her, so she could assume Dumbledore was protecting her to some capacity. Perhaps she would have to ask her Aunt and Uncle about that when she returned. The Voldemort side of her brain knew there would have been chaos in the ranks, but was quite sure a few of his followers would have searched for him. Perhaps with his loss, there was a systematic hunt for the Death Eaters? They certainly hadn't carried on without him to go on to take over the country themselves, of that much Alice was sure.

What happened to Bella? Alice had an uncomfortable feeling the woman would not have gone down without a fight, her master's name on her lips to her last breath. Alice shook her head, trying not to think about it.

The most mysterious thing about her memories was just how differently she felt about them compared to Tom Riddle. Everyone the Dark Lord called a friend had never been much more than a tool. Even Bellatrix Lestrange was at best sometimes considered something like a favorite pet on the best of days. As long as she was a good girl, she could get a pat on the head and a bone for a treat. Yes, Bellatrix was like the loyal dog of her master, and she would beg for every treat. Lord Voldemort found the worship and devotion of his follower gratifying to his ego, and incapable of appreciating what Bellatrix felt for him. Alice wanted to take that love and wrap herself in it forever.

That little mental journey made Alice's cheeks go scarlet as she remembered what sorts of 'treats' the Dark Lord allowed Bellatrix to have. Her body and emotional state were much too young to handle those memories. Just then, another memory that connected to such thoughts came to her and gave her pause. She just remembered one of the most important things the Dark Lord had left behind for her to claim as her own.


	4. Chapter 4 - Deliria's Trip

**Note:** I decided to use ~ to indicate someone is speaking in Parseltongue. For example, ~Open.~ It looks like a good symbol for Parseltongue to me.

 **Chapter 4**

 **Deliria's Trip**

The next few days saw a rapid change in Alice's lifestyle. Firstly, she moved out of the cupboard under the stairs and moved into Dudley's second bedroom. Dudley had complained, but a flash of red eyes seemed to be enough to silence him. Second, she forced Aunt Petunia to take her shopping for new clothes. No longer would she be forced to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs. Third, she was now being properly fed every day, which quickly helped her go from unhealthy thin to merely thin.

The last addition she made to her lifestyle was a new pair of glasses that were properly prescribed to her own eyes. She had never known how bad her eyesight was until Tom Riddle's memories had shown her a better idea of how the world was supposed to look. This was certainly better, but she when she looked at the mirror shine of her knife (which she had decided she would be keeping at home at all times) she decided one of her goals would be to fix her eyes. She just didn't like the look of her glasses in the way of her eyes.

Despite knowing there was nothing to gain from muggle schooling, she decided to attend if only to keep up appearances. She paid little mind to the muggle children in class, because the Dark Lady part of her brain did not see any value in muggle children, and the old Alice had never been able to make friends and wouldn't think to start trying now. For this reason, she didn't notice that the other children had begun to notice something was different about her.

It should have been obvious from the moment she walked in, wearing brand new clothes in black and green, a cool confidence and pride practically radiating off her, and Dudley Dursley keeping his gang as far away from her as possible when normally he would be hunting her down and making her life a miserable. People were wondering what Alice had done to turn her situation around, a few even got the idea that if she could scare Dudley off that she was a friend worth having.

A couple had even been brave enough to approach her, but that was when they hit the wall of ice that was the new Alice's glare. Despite being shorter than most of the class, she had a way of making people like she was looking down at them, that they were so far beneath her that she viewed them as they would bugs beneath their feet. This quickly scared away further attempts at getting to know her.

She did not waste all her time at St. Grogory's just attempting to appear normal. When she found the time for a private moment, she would practice her magical control and attempt to strengthen her magical endurance. It was tedious and annoying to know what she would be capable of in time when at the moment it was a struggle to keep a pencil floating for long periods of time just above her hand. It would all be easier with a wand, of course, but she knew British law had forbidden wizarding children from having a wand until she was at least ten.

On occasion, Alice thought about trying to find a wizard or witch to steal a wand from, but thought it best to avoid outright criminal activity for the time being, and gather more information about the wizarding world as it stood today.

Alice knew she had been sent to live in the muggle world by Albus Dumbledore, of that she could be sure. Likewise, she could surmise the war had ended with the vanishing of the Dark Lord because there were no more mysterious muggle deaths and supposed bombings happening in the muggle news. Still, what did the Wizarding World think happened to Alice Potter and Lord Voldemort? Which Death Eaters died and which went to Azkaban? What had changed?

There was only one way to find out, but Alice could not walk into Diagon Alley looking like herself. So she would have to go in disguise.

The Wizarding World is vastly specialized in disguising itself, and it all started with the ancient art known commonly today as Glamours. Glamours used to be common practice, and started as simplistic illusions that merely made the Witch or Wizard appear however they wished to appear. These first glamours were easy to dispel, and fell out of favor centuries ago. A second kind of Glamour became common for a time in the form of charmed objects that transformed the Witch or Wizard. These kinds of Glamours were popular for a while. The problem was that this sort of Glamour came in only two forms, fragile or expensive. The fragile ones broke too easily, and the expensive ones could not be changed, and a single disguise was not worth the expense.

Of course, the real end of Glamours as a popular form of disguise was the invention of Polyjuice Potion. Painstakingly crafting another visage that one was likely to use only the once or using a simple illusion that was easily broken by even minor wards became unpopular compared to being a physical copy of another human being as long as one took the potion.

Despite the limitations of these glamours, Alice decided to try it. The illusory glamour was a rather simple spell, and it had been made long before wands were common so her wandless magic would not be a problem. On practicing, however, she found her main problem was still her magical stamina. She could only maintain the form for perhaps and hour, and if she tried that she would pass out in exhaustion by the end of it.

After weeks of practice, her frustration decided that perfecting her endurance was not likely to happen fast enough for her patience to last, and she would need to switch tactics. She would use the second kind of glamour instead. But if she was going to do that, she was going to have to do it properly.

Standing in front of Aunt Petunia's mirror one day, she began to practice her Glamour, and worked on her appearance. The first thing she had decided on was that her disguise would need to be older then her to go through Diagon Alley without bother. As she willed her magic, she saw herself growing taller in the mirror and developing a womanly figure. A girl that looked much like her stared back at her. She looked maybe a year off of her twenties.

"Hmm… Taller," she mused, as the illusion became taller, at least taller then she was likely to be when she grew up. Perhaps it was the Dark Lady side of her brain that wanted to tower over her foes. She grinned at the thought.

The next thing she changed was her rather distinct scar, which vanished in the illusion. Despite the love of her eyes, she knew those too were too distinctive to keep in a disguise and decided to change them. Her eyes became nearly solid black in color. The last feature that really spoke of Alice Riddle and no other was her messy black hair. She began to shift the colors, brown, blond, than red.

She decided those were not working for this persona she was creating, and began to play with unusual colors. She mused to herself that Metamorphmagi must do this sort of thing all the time before she settled on a snowy white hair color. It looked otherworldly, and would certainly draw attention, but she liked it. Besides, it wasn't the most uncommon hair color among Witches and Wizards.

She made her hair straighter and longer, before playing slightly with her other features, crafting something just right. She found herself starting to tire before she decided this was just right. No one would ever know she was Alice. The illusion broke, but she had already committed every detail to memory.

She decided to create her glamour out of clay, in the shape of a small coin. She had to carefully carve several runes into it, and then charge it with both her magic and the image of the form she wanted over a period of seven days. If her concentration slipped, she would have to start over with a new coin. Luckily, it worked the first time, though she quickly began to see a new problem.

The object based Glamours did actually transfigure the body, so when Alice put the coin on (attached to a thin black cord to make it a necklace) she outgrew her clothes. "Oh… Right," she murmured, as she remembered that Tom had never used such objects himself and only knew intellectually what went into making them. Lord Voldemort only needed illusory glamours if he ever needed to change his appearance on the fly, and sent his Death Eaters on any missions where Polyjuice Potions were necessary. "Wish the books would have noted that."

Still, she at least had the main component of her disguise, and if she had to she would be able to steal a dress from Aunt Petunia that wouldn't be too uncomfortable. Now she needed a cover story for this identity. She began to play around with her voice first, and decided she had a decent enough American accent, and decided she would be a young American witch who'd recently moved to Britain. "But what is my name?" she mused to herself in her room, writing letters in the air with her finger that appeared like fire, just she had in her mind before.

Alice Lily Marvolo Potter Riddle.

She played around with the letters for a while, moving them around and trying to make a name out of them. Long ago, it was the same way a young Tom Riddle created a name that would strike fear into the hearts of every British Witch and Wizard to the point they couldn't even say it for fear it would somehow summon his merciless wrath upon them. Alice was not planning something quite so dramatic with this persona for now, but who knows?

Replica Tom.

She chuckled as she found those words coming together and decided to make a theme of it. She left those letters alone and continued to play with the others.

Replica Tom try... Deliria.

Deliria. That sounded like a good name, but she still had some left over letters. One word seemed to form immediately as she stared at the remaining ones. "Love." She frowned slightly at the word. Voldemort would have laughed, but Alice felt a strange longing as she pulled the word up. There were still more letters. Two Ls, an O and a D. She blinked at realization and put it together.

Replica Tom try Deliria Lovedoll.

If she had been thinking like an older woman, or an immature teenage muggle boy, that name would have made her giggle. As it was, she liked it. She could imagine her persona might be related to the Lovegood family, a forgotten American branch lost to time, though she would have to do further research to see if such an idea would stick long term.

"Deliria Lovedoll should do, I think," she said, as she solidified her idea of the woman. Deliria Lovedoll, American Witch, nineteen years old and fresh to the British Isles. If asked she would claim to be Muggleborn… No, wait, No-maj born. She repeated that in her mind for a moment, though if she slipped she could easily claim to have picked up on the British vernacular. This way if there was some credibility to a plausible connection with the Lovegoods she could claim to be from a squib branch later. Flexibility was good.

The last step, though probably the most important, was getting there in the first place. She was not yet comfortable attempting apparition, nor did she desire to force Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon into taking her while she was disguised in another form. Without a wand she couldn't summon the Knight Bus, nor create a Portkey for herself.

And so when Deliria Lovedoll took a journey on Saturday morning, she decided to take a normal bus. It might have been taken longer then she would have liked, but it wasn't the worst way to travel muggles had ever developed. After arriving in London, she entered the Leaky Cauldron and made her way to Diagon Alley. While most people used their wands to open the entryway, Tom had long learned it was easy enough to just channel his magic through his finger to open the way (because he did not want to ask for help the on his first trip there), and Deliria repeated the action and watched the Alley open up before her.

With Hogwarts currently active, the streets did not have the summer crowd, but the street was far from empty. It was a far cry from the fearful days of the war, when the only people on the streets were wide eyed and sticking to groups of friends for fear of an attack. Most people had bright smiles and walked the streets without a care.

Deliria put an easy grin on her phase and drifted into the alley and began her studies. Without pocket money, for now all she could do was browse lightly, but there was already plenty she was able to gather from a simple trip to Flourish and Blotts, because there was shelf dedicated to Alice Potter that she spotted immediately. A quick finger through a couple books here and there, as well as merely looking at a couple animated covers of books obviously intended for children around her physical age, and Deliria got a good idea about what people thought about Alice Potter. But just to be sure…

"You brits really seem into this Alice Potter girl," she mused casually to the man at the desk, in what she hoped was as good an American accent as she thought she could pull off. "She really all that?"

The man at the register chuckled. "I suppose You-Know-Who must have seemed like a minor event outside the country, but around here almost everyone would feel honored to shake her hand and thank her in person, wherever she is."

So Alice Potter was famous. In fact, a decent bit had come out about what happened, people even knew what the scar looked like, and were fairly sure it had been a failed Killing Curse that caused the end of the Dark Lord. Speculation was wild as to what exactly had caused the Killing Curse to fail, but most seemed to believe Alice Potter herself was possible, with a lesser believed theory that James Potter had set up some sort of special protection secret to his family.

That made her inner Alice frown. Not one person seemed to be singing the praises of Lily Potter, and that really did peeve her off. No offense to Dad, but Alice was fairly sure his actions in the situation had only bought, at most, a couple seconds of time for his family. Her mother was the hero of that tale, but of course the Wizarding World didn't expect the muggleborn to be their savior.

"Typical," murmured Deliria as she made her way into Knockturn Alley. She tried to carry a lost sort of look about her to avoid suspicion at entering the place where one could find all things Dark. Once further in the alley, a couple characters gave her a glance, but a cool glare was enough to make the opportunists keep away from her.

A black away from Borgin and Burkes there was a small area that few now remembered used to be an empty back alley but was now a solid wall with a small slytherin snake scratched on one of its bricks. Deliria leaned casually onto the wall and checked and waited a few moments to make sure she wasn't disturbed.

Once she was sure she was, she turned back to the wall. "Let's see if I'm a Parselmouth," she mused to herself before hissing to the wall. ~Open.~ Nothing appeared to happen, but she stepped forward anyways, and if anyone was watching they would have seen her walk into a wall. ~Close,~ she told the wall behind her, making sure no one could accidentally follow her.

She entered a small room where the only feature was a human sized statue of a Snake's Head with gleaming red jeweled eyes. ~I am Lord Voldemort,~ she told the snake statue which opened it's mouth wide and revealed a slick surface that would easily remind a muggle of a slide. Without that little password, the statue would have instead tried to bite her head off. Alice took off her glamour necklace to keep safe in her hands and shrunk down into her natural visage before jumping into the mouth of the snake.

When a clever youth named Tom Riddle once took a job at Borgin and Burkes, he had decided he could not keep his horcruxes in just any temporary home he took, so he had constructed this little hideout in secret. It would be many years later that the Dark Lord developed most of the permanent locations of his Horcruxes, but this location had been kept as a safe house to escape to if he ever found himself stranded in Diagon Alley during a raid. The last time he had been here, it had been to remove the Diadem of Ravenclaw for his 'interview' at Hogwarts.

And now it was Alice's to do with as she pleased. She slide down into the small room, and flames lit within the chamber as if to greet her. It was just a small chamber of blackened stone with the walls covered in green and silver tapestries. There was a four poster bed in the center of the chamber, while the back wall had a shelf of books, a chest, and… a portrait. "Oh, almost forgot about that," she murmured as the occupant of the portrait seemed to come to life.

"Who dares trespass within the private chamber of Lord Voldemort?" came a cold, high voice as red eyes flashed her way. The portrait of the Dark Lord looked as though it was done when he was still young and handsome, but the eyes were red and slit-pupils as they had been towards the end of the war.

"The Heir of Slytherin herself, of course," said Alice, allowing her own eyes to flash red at her parent. "Your daughter and conqueror."

"No one can conquer me," hissed the memory of the Dark Lord. "Especially not some child."

Alice giggled in amusement. Even when she did conquer the rest of him, she now had the opportunity to continue to taunt poor Tom for the rest of time. "I may have yet to finish the job, but I am afraid your Horcruxes will not survive me, Father. I am most certainly your conqueror. But at least we'll always have a memory of who you were."

Though part of her wanted to play with the enraged portrait a while longer, she knew she should get down to business. ~Sleep,~ she commanded and the portrait closed it's eyes. Parseltongue passwords had been a very useful lesson Tom had discovered among Salazar's secrets, and Alice began to think she would have to start using it herself.

She checked the bookshelf first, her eyes grazing over each to see if there was any if there were any she didn't recall from front to back. Nothing immediately took her fancy, so she opened up with chest. Inside the chest, there were several supplies being preserved by a powerful preservation charm. Most of the supplies she would just leave for future use, but a bag of gold galleon emergency funds was definitely coming with her. She checked inside the magically expanded bag and quietly remembered there were a couple hundred galleons within. It was not a large sum, but it would hold her well for a few years, at the very least.

With that, Alice when back to the entrance, before putting her glamour necklace back on. ~Lift,~ she commanded, and a stepped forward as a stone snake tongue rose up and lifted her up through the entrance like an elevator. She swiftly made her way back to Diagon Alley and first made her way to the Daily Prophet, and asked to have a look in the archives.

Most people never made use of the Daily Prophet Archives, and the emptiness of the place allowed for some privacy in her search. The room was lined with endless stacks of newspapers layered on top of each other, and a small podium in the center of the room. Deliria stepped up to the podium and looked down. "Search for Bellatrix Lestrange," she commanded.

The top of the podium glowed for a moment before summoning several papers from the stack. Deliria sighed at the picture on the top of several mugshots from four people sent to Azkaban, and poor Bella had gone with a smile, assured her Lord would free her eventually. Barty looked completely broken in tears at his sentencing, and it was easy to read why. His own father had sentenced him away, huh? Deliria frowned deeply in distaste. "What am I going to do with them," she murmured, before letting the podium banish the papers back and continuing through her mental list of names for a while.

Several of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle had escaped Azkaban by denouncing him and claiming Imperious. Lucius in particular seemed to have done very well for himself. Inside, Alice didn't know how to feel about most of the Death Eaters she looked over. It was not as though they were hers, and only a special few elicited any real feelings from her. The Dark Lord had no real friends, and Alice only had stronger feelings for the very few.

Her strongest feelings lay with Bella… and Severus. Seeing his image made her grit her teeth. For most of the Death Eaters, she cared not for their sins, but Severus had been the one to give Tom the prophecy, he was one of the three men responsible for the death of her family. It seemed he was still working at Hogwarts as instructed. She would have to think for a long time what she was going to do to him when she got there.

Finished with the Inner Circle, and her thoughts now on revenge, she remembered a spy she had left behind. Her search for Peter Pettigrew, sadly, saw that he was killed by Hit Wizard Sirius Black. "Damn," she murmured, banishing the page away. "I wanted the little rat myself." She banished the paper away without reading further.

With that, she didn't think any of the other lower ranked Death Eaters would hold her interest. She checked up on Albus Dumbledore for a moment, just to check that he was indeed still alive and had retained all his positions. Finally, she decided to check for herself.

Alice Potter seemed to appear at least once a year, and rumored sightings were constant. Alice might have underestimated her own fame earlier in the day, because the British Wizarding Community was absolutely obsessed with her. The Dark Lady part of her brain was mentally drooling of the possibilities of her influence when she finally came back into the public.

"Eat your heart out, Tom," said Deliria with a giggle as she banished the paper. "All that work to make them bow to you, and all I had to do was survive you for them to adore me."

After subscribing to the Prophet to keep in touch with the news of her world, she made an uneventful trip back home and back into a world of the routine and the normal. It did not take very long for Alice to start feeling very bored, but knew there was little she could do for a while yet.

Alice sighed to herself in her room every night, waiting for the years to pass her by to truly escape the tedium of the muggle world.


	5. Chapter 5 - Webby's Quest

**NOTE:** This chapter is a bit short, but it ended at a perfect place for it.

 **Chapter 5**

 **Webby's Quest**

St. Grogory's Primary School was a fairly normal school, and was filled with fairly normal children. Except there was one child that every child knew was not so normal. She was very smart, and got good grades, but had no friends and didn't seem to really want any either. Everyone who got in her way was glared down into submission by seemingly nothing but the force of her willpower. When her cousin made an attempt to reassert his dominance of her, he ended up stranded on the roof with no way down.

It was a new school year, and it felt totally dull to one girl known to the world around her as Alice Potter. But what Alice did not know was that someone desperately wanted to be her friend. Megan Webb was a new student at the school in her year, and had found herself unlucky enough to become a target of the bullies of the school since Alice had escaped her previous role as said target.

Oh, she never had it quite as bad as Alice had, but her lack of friends going into the school year quickly saw her seclusion taken advantage of. After a month, Megan wanted an escape, and saw hearing how Alice used to be in her position, wanted desperately to know her secret on how she did it. She heard several stories, of course, about how Alice seemed to be able to make things moving by pointing at them, or seemed to sometimes move from one room to another instantly.

Very few kids ever witnessed anything, but everyone had heard the stories dozens of times. While the teachers dismissed such notions off hand, the kids who whispered such rumors thought she was a Mutant like from X-Men comics. Megan certainly hoped she wasn't a mutant, because that would mean she couldn't do what Alice could do, and Megan thought it would be cool to have super powers.

Megan started upon her quest to befriend the strangest girl in class by attempting to follow her in her free time. But every time she did, she often found that Alice would completely disappear without a trace every time she went out of sight. So, the next week she tried to follow more closely. Alice seemed to notice this, and turned to glare at her.

Megan froze as though petrified by those green eyes that met her plain brown ones. She couldn't find it in her to speak, or move. Was this what deer felt like in the headlights? A moment of silence passed before Alice walked on. When Megan regained her senses, she attempted to follow, only to find Alice had disappeared again. She vowed that tomorrow would be different.

Unfortunately, it was, because Dudley's gang found her first. That wasn't a fun day. The day after, she was back on her quest, her passions for an end to the bullying renewed. Once more she kept close, and once more Alice turned to glare at her.

But this time Megan barreled through with all the courage she could muster. "Hi!" she said, perhaps too loud and excited. After all, she had been trying to get this chance to talk to the girl for over a week. "My name is Megan."

"I know," sneered Alice. Goodness, she was not great with people, was she?

Megan would not let herself be deterred. "I was hoping to catch you before you went… Well, wherever you go when you disappear," she continued, as though Alice was not trying to get her to go away. "I was hoping I could join you."

"Why?" This time it was less of a sneer and more of a sigh.

Megan decided that honesty was the best policy. After all, if it didn't work she could try again later. She was persistent that way. "I have problems with bullies," she admitted sadly. "I heard you used to have similar problems and stopped them." She perked up with a smile. "I was hoping you could help me do the same."

Alice stared at her for a long moment. Then a small nostalgic smirk seemed to come on her face. "How very Slytherin of you," she murmured, mostly only for herself to hear though Megan picked up on it despite not understanding what Slytherin meant. "What do I have to gain from such an arrangement?"

"I'll be your friend," replied Megan. "I mean, as long as you don't end up being a bigger bully to me then Dursley."

Alice actually laughed at that, finally breaking the cool mask she usually wore, and Megan thought she looked a lot nicer when she wasn't trying to be so intimidating. "No one but his father can accomplish that, I think," mused Alice. "The only one I know so similarly fat, you know."

Megan giggled at that. "So," she said, raising her hand to shake Alice's. "Friends?"

Alice seemed to eye the hand for several seconds. "The thing is… I don't really need friends here," she said, though something in her face looked like she didn't entirely agree with what her mouth was saying, as though she had at least two different opinions on the matter.

"I always thought everyone needed friends." Megan was not sure what else to say. She couldn't accept to defeat, but how could she befriend someone who claimed to simply not need them? "I mean, maybe I can help with your practicing your powers or something."

Alice's left eyebrow rose at that as she eyed her. "What powers?" Her tone felt… foreboding.

"I've heard from some of the other kids you have super powers," she answered, for some reason finding a hint of fear sprinting into her heart from Alice's voice there. "They think you're a mutant or something, like the X-men."

Alice looked confused. "X-men?"

"Like the comic book."

"I've never read any comic books."

"Oh. Well, the X-men are mutants who are born with super powers. Like reading minds or firing lasers, that sort of thing."

"And people… think I'm one of these 'Mutants'?"

"Yeah. Well, some of the kids anyways, I don't think the teachers believe that." Alice seemed to think over this bit of information for a while. Megan decided it was best to break the silence before it settled. "I sort of hope you're more of a magician, because then you might be able to teach me some of it. I think having super powers would be awesome." She kept trying to keep her cheerful smile.

Alice's eyes now began to look at her with a kind of pity. "I'm sorry," she said. "It is one of those things you have to be born with."

Megan had to admit that was a bit sad as her face fell. Then she perked up again. Truly she was a hard person to keep down forever. "That's too bad, but it would still be good to see it."

Alice stared at her for another dozen seconds before opening her mouth to say something, when a cry from something stupid and fat came down the hall. "Webby! It's play time," said Dudley Dursley, flanked by his gang.

Megan spun around and instantly felt herself begin to cower. Alice's glare might have only scared her to silence once, but the threat of physical violence seemed to be the limit to her bravery.

"We were talking, Dudders," came a cool voice behind her before Alice Potter stepped beside her. Megan could see Dursley's face pale slightly before his cousin.

"Oh, looks like the Freak wants to play with her friend now," said Gordon.

Dudley seemed to look at his friend, then back at Alice, as though his brain was slowly trying to process whether his reputation as leader was worth Alice's wrath. Then he kept looking from one to the other, unable to choose.

"I most certainly am looking to play," said Alice, a cruel smile on her lips. "And my toys have decided to come to me." A girlish giggle was never meant to sound scary, but Alice seemed to manage well enough as she stretched out her right hand and something invisible seemed to smack Gordon down.

Megan and the boys stared for at least a minute at Gordon, who looked as shocked as the rest of them. Well, they all looked shocked, Dudley just seemed terrified. The boys turned to run. "Dudley," called Alice, causing the fat boy to stop dead in his step. "Apologize for interrupting my conversation." Dudley murmured something. "Louder, boy," she hissed threateningly.

"I-I'm sorry, Alice!" he stammered.

"Apology accepted, cousin," she said, satisfaction oozing off her. "You may leave. Though, make sure your friends don't go telling on their parents. We don't want Gordon to talk about how he let himself get beat by a girl, do we?"

Dudley just nodded before running for his life. Gordon started trying to get up before running himself, but with another wave of her hand he seemed to trip before crawling away. Alice cackled wickedly as he left, before turning to Megan.

"Still want to be my friend?"

"Are you kidding?" squealed Megan, causing Alice to flinch. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Of course I want to be your friend!"

Alice stared at her a moment longer before smiling and raising her hand, and Megan took it with a quick shake.

And so Alice made the first friend she ever had.


	6. Chapter 6 - Limit Breaker

**Chapter 6**

 **Limit Breaker**

It did not take Alice long to realize she rather liked having a friend. Despite being just some muggle girl, she liked Megan. Megan was perky, energetic, and most of all fascinated by everything magical. And Alice was the only magical being Megan knew, which made Alice the most interesting thing in the world. The Dark Lady side of her was pleased with a good ego stroking at the simplest displays of her power, while the childish side was pleased that someone in this world actually wanted to be around her.

And their shared inner trouble maker was cackling every time she broke the Statute of Secrecy and gave not a moment's care. The Trace would not be active until the day she went to Hogwarts, so she could share her power without fear of repercussion for years. Of course, if Megan spread around her powers, and particular her control of said powers, that could be troublesome. But Megan had already sworn herself to secrecy, and no one was going to believe her if she ever said her best friend had magical powers outside Primary School.

Beyond the emotional rewards of the relationship, Megan allowed for Alice to further strain the limits of her power. Lifting a pencil had become easy, but lifting a person for long then a few seconds was not. Megan always liked that trick, because it felt like she was flying.

"Can you fly?" she asked one time after Alice had to stop levitating her.

"I plan to work on that, actually," replied the witch. Most of the Wizarding World was under the belief that sustained flight without an object to act as the medium was impossible. But the Dark Lord had believed with all his blackened heart that nothing was impossible for him, and had been working on a method. She was sure he was only months away from overcoming that particular impossibility before his fall. It was one of the desires she shared with her third parent. "For now I'm limited to just making other things fly."

"It really does seem like you can do almost anything, Alice." Alice glowed at the praise. "Are there limits to magic?"

"Sure, but limits are only there until someone breaks them."

"I think you'll break all the limits someday." Yes, that was another thing Alice enjoyed about Megan, her unwavering faith she placed in Alice's hands. Ever since they became friends, Megan seemed to trust Alice in everything. Alice wants to practice reading people's minds? Megan was willing let her have a look. Alice wanted to try lifting her higher? Megan was sure she wouldn't be made to fall. Alice could not help but recognize this sort of trust was not something she should ever toss away haphazardly.

Megan also offered Alice opportunities she never had before, such as going to another friend's house. She had memories of Tom visiting his friends, but that was more about politics and not at all about enjoying each other's company. Alice quickly learned that despite occasionally thinking some of the things they did as friends was below her personal maturity level, Alice enjoyed them anyways, no matter how much the Dark Lady side of her mind told her she was just being silly.

But neither Tom nor the Old Alice ever had much opportunity to watch TV. There was a part of her brain that was so old, that when she looked at a TV she thought it was amazing how far these little pieces of technology had come over the years. It wasn't like Tom was terribly exposed to muggle luxuries himself, and the Wizarding World did not really have any replacement for television. Radio? Yes. Television? Not yet.

She quickly found out her favorite sad movie was Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Despite all her magic tricks and strange maturity for a child, that Alice found that movie sad seemed to be the thing Megan thought was weirdest about her.

"I mean, Rikki saves the family, what's so sad about that?" she asked.

A teary eyed Alice looked at her friend mournfully. "But the cobras just wanted to save their family too, but only ended up dying. It's… tragic."

Alice had no idea she was engaging in what future muggles would refer to as Alternative Character Interpretations, in seeing the snakes as the more sympathetic characters. But then, she was an Heir of Slytherin (she inherited his gift after all, even if not by blood), of course she was inclined to root for snakes. After watching the Jungle Book, she began to believe she should try to breed a snake with Veela-like hypnotic capabilities. Perhaps it was a good thing Voldemort never held much interest in most modern muggle fiction, he would have gotten too many ideas that would have been disastrous for his enemies.

In return for the wonderful world of muggle entertainment (which was easily the best things Muggles had ever had a hand in creating, Alice was sure), Alice gifted her fantasy fan of a friend with knowledge of which of her favorite magical things was true. Megan was delighted with thoughts of dragons and unicorns and even more magical creatures she'd never even heard of being real creatures. She also was fascinated by magical objects, and started describing certain things to see if there was an equivalent in the Wizarding World.

"So… The One Ring is real?"

"Well, the part where it turns your invisible isn't," said Alice. "But a soul baring object that ties a Dark Lord to the physical world is. It's called a Horcrux." It was amazing the secrets Alice was willing to share when she absolutely knew her young friend had no way to share her knowledge of such dark secrets to any other magicals.

"Wow," whispered Megan. "I can't believe Lord of the Rings is practically half non-fiction."

Alice giggled. "I'd say either the author had some connections to the magical world, or was quite good at guessing."

There was one problem with a muggle friend being in on her secret, and that was how the more Megan heard about magic, the more her own mundane world seemed so dull by comparison. Despite some newfound appreciation for a couple muggle things here and there, Alice could not help but agree, and thought it was sad she would eventually come upon a time when she would leave her muggle friend behind to the rest of her mundane existence.

"I wish I could do magic," Megan sighed one night as they spent the weekend together.

Most every other time such a comment came up, all Alice could do was apologize. But tonight, Alice had a very silly idea. Some might even call it an impossible idea. There were limits, even for her. And limits were only there until someone broke them.

"If I could find a way to give you magic, would you take the opportunity, no matter the cost?" she whispered.

Megan leaned up from her bed to stare at her best friend, the night light causing her eyes to shine. "Yes," she whispered far too quickly to such a question.

"I'm… not sure I can," admitted Alice. "But I just had an idea… So, I'll work on it."

Megan's bright smile seemed to shine in the night, and that was all the motivation Alice needed to attempt the seemingly impossible task of making a muggle into a magical.

Many Pureblood families were under the impression that Muggleborns had somehow stolen magic from magical families, that there was no way for magic to spring from Muggles. Studies had shown that most, if not all, Muggleborns were actually descended from a squib cast from their wizarding families. So the reality was that Muggleborns stole nothing, their magic was just as genetic as Pureblood magic, it just went dormant in their bloodline for a time. If magical blood was absolutely needed for magic to happen even in a muggle lineage, then how was Alice going to infuse a muggle with magic?

By infusing her with Magical Blood, of course. So Alice assumed her Deliria Lovedoll persona again and ventured into Knockturn Alley a short time after her conversation and began to research with the Dark Lord's collection. The Dark Lord did have some resources on Blood Magic, though in truth he knew the library to go to on the subject would have been the Black Family Library, or even consorting with Goblins. In the Wizarding World, Blood Magic was considered Dark, and was carefully monitored, while among the Goblin Nation the study of such things was quite common, and often used in Gringots itself.

Alice knew at least one ritual that existed known as Blood Adoption, where a witch would basically replace one parent with a different witch or wizard. The practice was illegal in most countries, and in Britain was only used when a noble family wished to adopt someone into their House. The problems with the ritual was she had no reason to think such a ritual would work on a Muggle, and it was known to be quite a painful process for the body to rebuild itself in such a way. Would Megan even survive it?

Alice had a different idea, though. She remembered in alchemy there was once a practice known as Alchemical Chimera creation, which using Alchemical Principles in rituals allowed different creatures to be fused together in a variety of ways. This was connected to some forms of Blood Magic long lost to time that described a similar process, though the only people that knew how to do it had died out.

Alice spent a long time researching before she started to really solidify her planning. There were two big hurdles to overcome. One, she had to basically recreate an illegal ritual based solely on her desired result. Second, she needed a magical to be sacrificed into becoming part of Megan. If she got a wizard, there would be some curiosity, and Alice also realized a child suddenly showing up in Hogwarts records as a muggleborn just as a wizard happened to disappear would potentially lead to investigations.

So Alice decided it might be a better idea to infuse Megan with a magical creature. Initially, Goblins would have been a decent choice, but they were even more likely to investigate a missing member of their society and some human appearing being capable of their sort of magic. Alice continued to mentally list the sorts of creatures she thought would work, until she narrowed it down to one.

It took a long time to get a ritual working. Alice first had to experiment on other creatures, mainly squirrels and rats and other local creatures she could easily bewitch. There had been a few failures before she fine-tuned her technique, and even the successful creatures had to be put down unless she ever wanted her experiments to be discovered. Alice wasn't sure she would ever admit to her friend how many creatures had to die for her to get her powers.

Alice had found there was a difference between remembering Tom killing things, and doing it herself. The first few times she had cried for hours. But in the end she was able to push herself through it, and always made sure she never used someone's pet. No one would miss the wild animals she experimented on.

This justification would be much, MUCH harder to do with her intended magical creature: A House Elf.

House Elves were rather powerful magical creatures. When Alice had settled upon one of them being the best candidate for her to use, she researched as much as she could about them. Being creatures meant to serve in the background, there were not nearly enough information about them. Alice knew Megan would like their magical capabilities, and was sure their drive for hard work and a cleanly disposition wouldn't be too much of a bother her too much. Considering the power House Elves seemed to have, Alice had to wonder what one could do if they were ever allowed to use a wand…

Bringing her plan (though skipping over the nastier details of how it would be done), she brought her plan to Megan. "I'm fairly sure I could infuse you with the House Elf's knowledge of how to work their magic, too," she finished.

"Would I… look any different?"

"I'd specifically work the ritual for minimum differences, though a couple things might slip in," she admitted. "Like pointed ears or slightly bigger eyes." Or stunted growth rates, though Alice decided not to mention that possibility out loud.

Far from a detraction, Megan looked excited as she rubbed her fingers over her ears as though saying goodbye to them already. "And I won't act any different?"

"Well, House Elves like to keep things clean," Alice admitted. "And like to keep busy. Oh, and they love to please their witches and wizards above all else."

Megan smirked. "That doesn't really sound all that different from how I already am," she replied. "Except the cleaning part. Bet mom will like that, though. How soon can we do it?"

"I have to find a House Elf, but I think we can do it by your Birthday," said Alice, confidently. "I hope that's a good enough Birthday Gift."

"I can already tell you it's going to be the best gift I've ever had, and probably ever will have."

Despite her assurances, this was the step in the process Alice was most nervous about. It would have been fairly easy for the Dark Lord to borrow a House Elf for a project of his, he had even done that once before, but Alice would have to steal one for lack of followers.

Her search for a House Elf no one would miss began at the gates of Lestrange Manor. She would have been the first to offer the Dark Lord anything he wanted, so she might as well give the same curtesy to the Dark Lady, right? Sadly, the Manor had sealed itself until it's family returned, which meant no House Elf currently resided there. Perhaps she had followed someone elsewhere. The search continued like that for a while, searching the homes of Noble Houses that were inactive or recently extinct from the war. No matter where she went, she could find no house elves.

Alice found herself beginning to consider some of the near-extinct Houses that might serve her needs. The Blacks would have likely replaced their House Elf by now, right? Furthermore, even if this turned out to be a dead end, perhaps there was something Alice could get out of the trip. After all, the Dark Lord's memories let her know that Sirius Black was once her father's best friend, and one of the avengers of her parents death.

So, Deliria Lovedoll found herself on the Street of Grimmauld Place. She walked up to Number Twelve, and hesitated upon nearing the threshold. She could practically feel the magic emanating from the place. She knew the wards on the building were strong, though it seemed they had waned over the years. She glanced about the street to make sure no one was looking before taking off the glamour necklace and assuming her true form.

She attempted to push the door open with magic, but felt it resist her. She continued to push, but it would not give. At every other house, this would have been where she would have given up, but Alice could tell this house was not sealed, merely closed. So she decided to try something a little risky.

After over a year of practice, she was reasonably comfortable apparating again. There was a chance that the place had anti-apparition wards and she was about to get a rather nasty backlash from this attempt, but she was sure if she had a wand she could have brute forced the wards on the door by herself, what were the odds the anti-apparition wards were still being powered even if they had been here? So with a spin and a light crack, she found herself in a dark and dingy entryway but a moment later.

Alice walked into the main hall, curious and cautious. This did not seem to be the home of a living witch or wizard anymore. Perhaps Sirius had abandoned his family home to fester on its own? He had always been the black sheep of his family. What love did he have for his childhood home?

"I call upon the Elf of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to serve their guest," she called to the house.

There was a crack at the same time as a screech came from half way through the hall. "Thieves! Invaders! Who dares intrude upon the house of my fathers!?" The curtain parted and showed a portrait of Walburga Black.

"Kreacher will find out, Mistress, oh yes," came a rather familiar voice that had Alice gawking at the crotchety old house elf that came into view.

"Kreacher?" she whispered. How had he survived? The Dark Lord had left him in the cave, he had the full potion, surely the Inferi had killed him. It didn't seem possible. It couldn't be possible. And yet, there he was, attempting to snap his fingers and send her flying. "Stop."

"Kreacher does not obey the brat, only obeys his Mistress," said Kreacher.

Alice did not listen, she was looking the creature straight in the eye, as her own eyes flashed red. "How did you survive the cave, creature?" Legilimency was not a magic that needed much power, only an extraordinary will to pierce the mind. The power was only needed to force the mind to do things it didn't want to. Kreacher did not have enough of either to resist the Dark Lady as visions came to her eye. As memories began to swirl about her, Alice smirked slightly. It seemed mom hadn't been the only one getting one over on the Dark Lord.

"Kreacher, I have come to grant your Master's last request," she proclaimed loudly over the shrieking of the portrait. "I am the one with the power to destroy the Locket."

This proclamation stopped Kreacher in his tracks, and a funny smile came over his face as tears came out of his eyes. At that, she forced the poor creature to sleep. Let his last thoughts be those happy ones. It was one last small kindness to pay for his blood. It took a little while longer to look for the Locket of Slytherin, but it came as an incredible bonus in addition to what she came here for in the first place. The portrait of a dead woman could scream all she wanted, no one was left to listen to her after Alice left.

Near midnight on the 30th of January, mere hours from Megan's birthday, Alice snuck the girl out in the dead of night and apparated her into Knockturn Alley, in front of the hideout. "That… was not how I was expecting teleportation to feel," said Megan, who's first sidealong apparition lead her feeling weak-kneed as well as queasy.

"You get used to it," replied Alice before leading her into the hideout. After getting over the apparition, Megan was left in awe of how they entered the chamber as she followed close behind, listening to her friend hissing like a snake to make them do things. She even got to walk through a wall!

Down in the chamber, in front of the sleeping portait of Lord Voldemort were three circles drawn in blood. In one circle the unconscious creature sat naked. Megan looked frightened of the ugly little creature. "That's a House Elf?" she whispered.

"An old one," she replied. "Not long for this world, I'm afraid." Because this ritual is going to kill him, though she didn't tell Megan that. "The good news is he recently accomplished something he had been living for, so… He'll be dying happy and fulfilled." Alice found herself unable to look at Megan as she said that, and wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Megan or herself. This was the first time she was going to kill a being, and she struggled to push down the guilt.

Alice checked a watch. "Alright, it's passed midnight now. It's officially your birthday, and now it's also your rebirthday."

"So, what do I do?"

"First, I need a bit of your blood. Just a drop." Alice took her hand and led her towards one of the circles before raising the knife and looking at Megan as though asking for permission. After a nod, Alice pricked her pinky finger and let the blood drop. Megan bit her lip to hold back the 'ouch'.

"Now, rituals can sometimes be weird, but just trust me on this one. We have to be naked for this." Megan made a face but when Alice started to undress, she followed suit. "Now, sit in that circle, while I sit in this one. Once we start, you can't move out of the circle. Just to be sure, I'll ask you one last time, are you sure you want this?"

"Yes." There was not any hesitation in her friend as she took her seat in one of the circles. Alice followed suit in the other.

"Creature of Service, your body and power has been called upon to serve one last time. Friend of Alice, a great gift is upon you. I give this gift in good faith. By the Blood of Alice, may you be bound. By the Blood of Kreacher, may you be strengthened. By the Blood of Your Flesh, may you remain whole. Let two become one of flesh and magic!" She slammed her hands down on the center where the circles met and her magic began to charge the circles, which glowed red. The air began to sizzle with the power she was willing.

Megan could never describe the burning feeling that overcame her at that moment as she began to convulse as though being electrocuted. Thankfully, this kept her from seeing what become of Kreacher as his body seemed to be melting and a cloud of slushy Kreacher began to float around the convulsing form of Megan. Alice struggled to keep her will focused on the ritual as that guilty feeling crept at her heart.

At this point, the ritual was going as expected, but then Alice felt a shock to her own body. Confused, she tried to make sense of the feeling, and felt a tether on her magic, pulling towards her friend. She tried to pull away, but could not seem to move.

The circles seemed to give one final bright flash of magic that blinded her before fading. The feeling was released and she dropped. Now that it was over, Alice felt magically drained and tired beyond words. She struggled to keep her eyes open and lean back up.

Megan was standing before her, wide eyed and smiling wide. She ran her fingers over her ears, and Alice could see she had guessed right, the tips of Megan's ears were a little more pointed at the end. But other then that, Megan looked much the same as before.

Megan looked back at Alice and went down to hug her. "Best Birthday Present ever!" she squealed with delight. Alice groaned tiredly. "Sorry, Mistress. You look tired, maybe I should get into a bed?"

Megan looked so concerned for a moment before a confused expression spread on her face. "Mistress Alice, why did I just call you Mistress?"

Alice realized she had accidentally not just made Megan part house-elf, but also bound her as HER House Elf. "Oops," she whispered before her world faded to black.


	7. Chapter 7 - Are We Villains?

**_NOTE:_** _I apologize for taking a while to get back to this. My muse has recently kicked back in after spending some time away, so we shall continue._

 **Chapter 7**

 **Are We Villains?**

After a few hours rest, Alice was able to explain House Elf bonds of service to Megan, who despite essentially being told she had just become a slave, seemed rather happy. Alice was not sure if that was because of her being too excited about magic to care, or if that was her new house elf mindset at work.

Despite Megan enjoying her birthday just fine, Alice felt a swell of guilt continue to build. Killing innocent beings, enslaving her best and only friend, she sure was living up to that third parent of hers lately. As with many things since her own rebirth, Alice Riddle was in two minds about her recent actions.

The Dark Lady was quite pleased by the results. She had taken one worthless but enjoyable muggle minion and turned her into both a worthy minion and an achievement in the world of magic. Megan Webb was now her creation, and her every success reflected the power of her maker. Besides, Tom had never had a House Elf of his own, and now she had one more achievement above the Dark Lord that preceded her.

The Child was having nightmares of the old House Elf crying with joy before the tears became bloody streaks, and crying Megan bound in chains of blood never to be free again. Was Megan even her friend anymore when the once muggle had no more choice in the matter? She knew deep in her heart that these events officially made her a bad person, no matter how much her Dark Lady side denied the existence of Good and Evil as anything more than restrictive societal rules they were well beyond.

For her part, Megan was oblivious to the moral quandaries of her friend, and enamored with her dreams coming true. With a snap of her fingers, she could clean her room, or pop into any place she could think of. It came so naturally to her, more so then Alice's magic came to her. It was just instinct and desire that fueled her magic. All her troubles came in the new need to hide her changes.

Alice told her that she would be considered an illegal experimentally bred creature if the Ministry of Magic ever had a clue about her, so only Alice could be trusted with knowledge of her abilities. Likewise, suddenly having pointed ears would be hard to explain to muggles, but at least they had avoided any more noticeable physical changes. For now, she merely got in the habit of hiding her ears in her hair. She thought that would be a more difficult habit to get into, but once Alice suggested it, she needed no more compelling a reason to start.

Megan wouldn't have noticed how quick she was to listen to anything Alice told her to do if she hadn't been told that was part of the House-Elf bond. She tried to think of how this was different from before, and could only think it made her better at listening to Mistress. Of course, the weirdest thing was thinking of her as Mistress. That was just weird, and the human part of her brain recognized it as an oddity in her new self.

Oh well, when she had magic, what did she care if she wasn't normal anymore?

School seemed to go on the same as before, though now when they went off to practice magic in secret, Megan got to play with her own abilities. She didn't need quite as much practice, since her Elvish magic seemed to come to her like instinct. Alice did have to specifically tell her she couldn't use the word 'Mistress' in public, though allowed her to continue to use the term in private since it seemed to make her uncomfortable to not apply the title to Alice. It would have made for a fascinating study in house elf psychology from a human perspective if thinking about it didn't make Alice feel like an awful person.

When it was only a week until summer vacation began, Megan realized the Alice was not feeling quite as cheerful after the ritual as she liked to pretend. Alice was very good at pretending most of the time, and Megan didn't want to contradict her whenever she said she was feeling fine. There were only little signs of a few sleepless nights and split seconds of guilt on her face when they spoke together.

"You know I trust you, right?" the part elf asked her friend one day.

"Of course you do," replied Alice, holding in a sigh while faking a cheerful smile.

"Okay, so you trust me too, right?"

Alice lifted an eyebrow at her friend.

"Enough to tell me what's bothering you? I mean, you apologized for making this bond thing, but it's never really bothered me. It seems like it might still be bothering you though." Alice's mask seemed to slip a bit as her watery eyes seemed to shine with unshed tears. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"That's because you can't tell anyone without my permission," said Alice. It seemed she was reaching her limit. "Do you really understand what… What I did to you?"

"You gave me magic," said Megan, her own smile quite genuine. "I mean, I guess I'm more likely to listen to you and do what you tell me, but that's not a really big deal to me. I think I'd mostly do that anyways before. I don't even remember ever telling you no before." She glanced up thoughtfully, as though trying to remember any such incident.

"But you can't anymore," murmured Alice, looking down. "You can't disobey me. If I told you to be quiet, you wouldn't be able to say a word until I allowed you to. If I told you to do something you didn't want to do, you would still do it. If I…" She paused, shaking slightly and letting her tears roll out. "If I told you to die for me, you would do it without hesitation." She looked up. "You aren't even my friend anymore, y-you're my slave. You don't get a choice in it anymore."

Megan looked surprised, and frowned slightly as she tried to consider her friend. Her friend. "Well, that's silly," she said finally. "Of course I'm still your friend. You never ordered me to not be your friend, nor did you tell me to be your friend. You haven't told me to like you, I do that anyways. I mean, do House Elves naturally like their masters or mistresses?" She seemed to get that thoughtful look again. "If it's possible for me to not want to do what you tell me to do, even if I am forced to do it, then I think most of my feelings are still my own. If it worries you what you could tell me to do, then you'll just have to be careful what you tell me to do, right?"

Alice smiled a little despite still crying. "You are entirely too cheerful for your own good, Megan," she said finally.

Megan pulled her best friend into a hug. "And that's another thing I didn't get from Elf blood, Mistress," she replied warmly. "Besides, where else are you going to get some cheerfulness in your life? The Dursleys?" That made both of them laugh for a while hugging each other.

"So what else is bothering you?" asked Megan, letting the moment of silence pass.

Alice frowned sadly again. Megan had at least made her feel a little better about one matter, but the other would not easily be alleviated from her conscience. But at least Megan would keep her secrets. "I'm a murderer," she decided to admit, and flinched at the shocked gasp from her friend.

Megan seemed to be blink in loop for a while, just staring at her. "Oh," she said. "You're talking about the House Elf." Alice was surprised she pieced that one together so quick. "I'm not stupid, Mistress. I realized what 'not long for this world' meant, and didn't miss the fact that he was gone after the ritual." Perhaps being cleverer then other children her age, Alice had underestimated other kids a bit too much. "He didn't suffer, right? He seemed to be asleep, to me."

Alice nodded. "I didn't want him to suffer," she murmured. "He… He was old, and abandoned. No one left to serve… and no one who would miss him. He was perfect to use." That much was at least true, no one seemed to have been in that house since the Mistress of the House died. "But it was still murder…"

Megan frowned, and couldn't seem to come up with a way to cheer that fact up at all. Even if she was happy to have magic of her own, it sounded bad even in her own head to admit she was happy with the arrangement even if it meant someone else had to die. "Well, I guess I have to share the guilt there," she decided. "Maybe I should have asked you what the ritual would have cost." Megan did indeed feel guilty when she thought it was likely she still would have said yes even if it meant a creature dying for her gift. After all, she wouldn't have really thought of House Elves as being a sort of person unless she met one herself. Or was part House Elf.

Alice recognized she was spreading her own guilt around. "I didn't want you to know," she admitted. "They… Even muggles know about concepts like Dark Magic in their fiction, right?" Megan nodded. "Well… What I did was legally classified as Dark Magic. Illegal. Some would call it evil."

Megan blinked. Suddenly thinking of her life as a story, she began to place what sort of character she was in the story. "Mistress, am I a real life minion to a Dark Witch?"

Alice laughed, though it wasn't a happy laugh. "I suppose," she admitted glumly.

Megan was a bit young to think about the dichotomy of Good and Evil seriously, but she was beginning to imagine herself as a flying monkey obeying the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz, and started to better understand why Alice was feeling so guilty about her recent actions. They really did seem like something the bad guys would do in a story, even though Megan couldn't think of villains she ever read about ever cried over their actions. "Are we… villains?"

Alice laughed again. "Maybe," she admitted. "Well, at least maybe I am. You'd be more like my victim." She looked away. "Though I'd like to believe the world is more complex than a line between heroes and villains. That might be me just justifying myself though. After all, Tom used to say something similar."

"Who's Tom?"

And that was the beginning into a long story about the history of Alice and Tom. Alice had to admit that despite everything, it was very nice to have someone else to talk to about her unique circumstances. Megan was in utter awe that not only was her best friend utterly amazing, she was also an actual chosen one of prophecy.

"You really are like a character out of a book."

"Yeah. You know, they actually sell books about me in Diagon Alley. I bet even those authors would be surprised at the real Alice Potter, though."

At the end of her explanation, Megan had just one question left. "If you already know all the magic you'd learned there, why are you planning to back to Hogwarts?"

"Well, I can't tell anyone but you that I could already pass my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s with my eyes closed, so I have to at least try to appear as an average witch. Also Hogwarts is just as important for networking as it is for academic achievement."

Megan looked confused. "Networking?"

"Making friends," Alice simplified. "Magical power and skill is one thing, but the friends you make in school could mean everything when you become an adult. Tom's 'friends' went on to be his first followers and fought at his side in the war."

"Can I ask what you'd want your own friends to do with you, after school?"

Alice was silent for a moment, thoughtful. "It's probably a bad sign if I admitted my first thought was to try to take over the world, wouldn't it?"

They laughed together again. Alice learned another difference between herself and the Dark Lord that day. For Tom, there was no such thing as Good and Evil, only power and those too weak to seek it. For Alice, she could admit to being slightly evil and power hungry, but a friend willing to follow her down such paths was much more important to her then the paths themselves.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Locket of Slytherin

**Chapter 8**

 **The Locket of Salazar Slytherin**

Alice had decided to keep the locket under the loose floorboard of her room as the months passed by, only occasionally taking it out to glance. While at first, she felt nothing strange despite knowing its true nature, the longer it remained near, the more Alice started to feel… something. It felt as though there was a strange emptiness inside her, and that the locket was the key to filling it. She wasn't sure if this was the Horcrux's attempts to enchant her, or if it was the piece of Tom's soul within her that longed to be whole again.

She knew eventually she would have to try experimenting with it, but the longer she put it off, the more nervous she felt about it. After all, she was preparing herself into a spiritual conflict with the Dark Lord, and this one did not have the disadvantage of already being trapped inside her. Of course, her Dark Lady side rationalized that it was also a version of Lord Voldemort many years younger than the one she had already conquered. She was smarter and had memory of greater accomplishments then this particular Tom.

So in the middle of summer, Alice gathered up the Locket and took it to the Knockturn Hideout. "Now remember, Megan, if things look bad, get this locket off me as quick as you can," she told her friend, who she brought just in case. "If I get possessed, treat him like you would me and you shouldn't have any trouble." Megan seemed to frown at that, but couldn't disobey. "Not that it's likely I'll get possessed from wearing it just the once. I'm fairly sure I'd be able to resist it." Alice tried to sound more confident then she was, but Megan seemed to be fooled.

With that, Alice sat on the bed and put the locket on around her neck. If she hadn't been specifically trying to sense any signs of influence or connection reaching for her, she might not have noticed the subtle touch of the object's hidden soul trying to connect with her. She smiled. "I was right," she murmured, more like she was mentally taking notes then informing Megan of what was going on. "It's not powerful enough to overtake me yet. It needs to build a deeper bond for that."

She knew Horcruxes could be used to possess other beings, though the few documents there were on that topic did not detail how long one had to have the object to make such a connection. Alice closed her eyes and felt the pull of the locket. ~Open,~ she whispered, hearing Megan gasp at whatever it was she saw when the Locket of Slytherin was forced open. Alice of course knew the Locket would have manifested some sort of feature of the Dark Lord. It tried to whisper to her mind, but Alice's thoughts were louder and filled with more magical might.

"Hello, Tom," she spoke, both mentally and out loud, a smile on her face. "We really should stop meeting each other like this."

The temptations of the Locket grew silent and she looked down to see a red slit-pupil eye looking up at her. Her own eyes became red as she smirked cooly, seeing the confusion in it. The pull of the object began touching deeper into her soul, as though reaching out to pull her in, a desperate longing drawing her closer. "What's happened?" it whispered to her, and she could not tell if the voice came in her thoughts or out loud at first, though Megan's slight squeak gave her an assumption. The Dark Lord was speaking to her like an old friend, concerned and missing her.

Alice found herself touched to hear him like that, despite knowing her only acted that way because he thought he was talking to himself. She realized Voldemort must have had some narcissistic tendencies if the only beings he could show any true affection towards were reflections of himself. Despite herself, Alice found herself softening just a touch. This had not been the same Voldemort that killed her parents. He had been younger when his soul infused the Locket, just a few years away from enacting his plans.

He might have already been a killer and quite ruthless, but this was not the same Dark Lord that she had in her head. "Much has happened," she mused calmly like she was catching up with an old friend. "But our revolution hit a little stumbling block. It seems splitting our soul so much had some negative effects after all. I got myself stuck in rather lovely young girl." The Dark Lady might also have inherited her spiritual father's narcissism, but only just a touch.

"That's unfortunate," quipped her Locket smoothly, and she could feel the amused smile. Tom was capable of chuckling at his own mistakes, it seemed. "I suppose breaking the limits of magic was inevitably going to come with some cost. I trust the transition hasn't set us back to far?"

"It has in some ways, but in others it has most certainly not," she mused, finding it odd how comfortable she was with this conversation. She really had been expecting to have another spiritual battle, but instead she was making friends with the thing. It felt strange, but oddly right, even though she knew she shouldn't be relaxing so much. "They believe us defeated, fearing our name too much to even speak it and not even knowing we are still among them. While the girl I've become is praised as the hero who vanquished us."

The Locket seemed to scoff at the very notion. "Such simpletons think a child to beat us?" he mocked. "The very notion is demeaning."

Alice felt the cruel smirk on her lips. "Nevertheless, I think it shall be an interesting part to play," she told her locket as she connected with it. She began to realize that it was not just herself being drawn towards it, but also the reverse. "We gave them a villain to fear, and now a hero to adore. But I'm afraid this childish hero is about to demean you further, Tom. A secret victory only I will know about."

The eye in the locket flinched, not used to see the cruelest predatory gaze of a Dark Lord turned back on it. "Come, my older self, no need to play games." Alice didn't know if it was trying to convince her or itself that this was just a teasing game. She felt the connection between her broken soul and the piece in the locket and began to grasp and pull at it with her willpower. It let out a scream. "STOP! What are you doing?"

Lights began to come out of the locket, taking the form an illusionary Tom Riddle, his eyes already red and snake-like and his skin pale as the dead. She looked up in wonder, seeing the Horcrux use the enchantments of its Locket body like they were natural abilities. That was rather impressive, she didn't know Horcrux's did that with items previously enchanted.

"I'm claiming what's mine, Dad," she murmured, tugging harder with her soul. At first his resistance was weak, but as it began to truly fight as though it's life was at stake she could feel it was stronger that the previous one that was in her head. She wondered why that was for a moment.

"No, our immortality, what are you doing? Stop this foolishness!"

Alice could feel her soul longing, and her face became hungry for it. "Come to me," she whispered. The Horcrux was supposed to be tempting her, but now it was Alice's turn. It was a bigger piece then her first Tom had been, had his original soul been rendered so small from so many tears? Alice wanted to be whole. She could feel it coming closer, but it wouldn't let itself be torn from that object so easily. "We belong together."

Alice had never felt it such a grace sin as to tear her soul apart as she did at this very moment. Her father had been a fool to deny the fulfillment of completion to himself. She remembered that Muggle Tramp he had killed for this folly of a ritual, and felt remorse. The Locket screamed louder as though remorse itself had burned it. Alice supposed she was Voldemort enough that her own remorse for her spiritual father's actions seemed to count. She felt its fight to hold on giving out at last.

She only felt fulfillment for a moment as she was awash in pain and horror. Her vision went far away from the room around her and down into the memories, memories of when she killed a muggle like it was nothing just to stave off death. The memory played over and over in her mind, and not just her own memories. The fear and horror of her victim flooded her mind, as if she were magically bonded to him for this single moment as she caused his death.

Alice eventually awoke from her vision while being shaken by her faithful friend. Alice had read that this 'regret' thing was supposed to be painful and possibly deadly, but she was not quite prepared for that. In truth, she had been hoping she would have to use regret to pull her soul together. Or rather, her spiritual father's soul. Her mind flooded with some of the younger memories of Tom Riddle, as though they were new again, though at least this time she didn't feel like her identity was in a jumble again. She could say she felt different, but she wasn't entirely sure she had a word for how she felt.

"I'm okay, Megan," she told her friend. Her gaze went back down to the locket around her neck. The eye had vanished, but she still felt it as though it were a part of her. Memories of being stuck in the thing for years began to flood her mind. Being a Horcrux was not a fun thing, she realized. "I'm still me."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Despite her assurances to the contrary, Alice did have to admit to herself that she felt different, and it took a few days for her head to really clear up again. The Dark Lady side of her brain seemed to grow stronger for a while, taking increased delights in standing above others and bringing suffering to her foes. She cackled in amusement whenever she had a chance to scare her family with even so much as a flash of her red eyes. Her child side knew she was being a touch over-cruel, but it would take a while to balance her two halves again, something to keep in mind with the next Horcrux.

She also found herself having indescribable nightmares. She found herself sleeping with the lights on much more often, as her dreams made the unfeeling darkness so much more terrifying. The years of unfeeling darkness locked within the Locket where she couldn't hear or see or touch anything were simply madness inducing, and the only reason the piece of soul could stand it was due to his own broken nature.

These feelings were only going to get worse with more Horcruxes, and now a longing to be whole was fighting with fear of it. She believed it would be best to hold off on collecting any more of the objects for a little while at least, allow her duel soul to recover from its growth. Truly, the sensory deprivation experience of being a Horcrux was going to be tough to get past, especially since the memories of it were so fresh to her.

On the plus side, her time of being the Locket of Salazar Slytherin had given her quite the understanding of all its enchantments and secrets. The soul fragment of Lord Voldemort had thoroughly explored the magic of its 'body' and new it better than anyone save its long dead creator. When he first took it, the Dark Lord in the making had discovered its ability to produce realistic illusions, to distract its owners enemies, but there was a bit more to the Locket then that.

She now knew that anyone who wore the Locket would be capable of speaking and understanding Parseltongue, and that it was originally made as a gift to Salazar Slytherin's wife. For at least a couple hundred years, this became a tradition among Salazar's descendants to gift this Locket to their non-Parselmouth loved ones, though eventually this gift was forgotten. The Locket would also grow hotter when it sensed danger for its owner, detecting potions, poisons and anyone with intent to cause harm coming too close.

Its previous existence as a Horcrux had also left its mark, and the Locket would still be near indestructible as a true Horcrux forever. For Alice, she still felt a deep connection to the Locket, as though she were still partially inside it, and that connection would remain for the rest of her life. It was like an extension of her body, and it made her have a much more instinctual control of its enchantments, even to the point of being able to see through the eyes of her illusions she projected with it. That could be useful, though perceiving two different senses was a little much for her brain to handle. That would take practice.

Experimenting with Megan, she found that she could apparently summon the Locket to her even if it was away from her body. She also found that if Megan wore it, she could feel her wearing it. It was a strange sensation, to be worn like common jewelry, and she wondered what else she could do with that. Questions she would save for later experimentation, as she wasn't willing to see if her ex-Horcrux could still corrupt a soul as though it were the real thing, or at least not with her Megan.

Alice Riddle found that practicing Occlumency exercises was the best way to get her mind back in order and move past her new fears. She hoped it would not be this difficult every time she absorbed a piece of her inherited soul back into herself, and that this sense of being just a little more like her father then before would not get too bad. After all, she preferred being Alice, and the thought that Tom might overtake her was grim to think of. But the Dark Lady side of her brain would not allow herself to believe that. She was the better Riddle, and she would not be overtaken by her inheritance.


	9. Chapter 9 - Expansion

**Chapter 9**

 **Expansion**

Alice found herself amazed at how quickly time seemed to fly by when she had actual things to do rather than be trapped inside a locket. There was certainly a new appreciation for the freedoms of having a body that she would never lose even as she came into the slight changes that had come with the Locket.

Another change was that she found herself more willing to be cruel again, and she decided to fix her little eye issue in a somewhat cruel way. She would not be hindered by poor eyesight forever, and the glasses had long annoyed her. She loved her own eyes, whether green or red, and would not hide them away behind the abominable lenses.

There was one little ritual, a rather illegal bit of Dark Magic, that would allow her to trade traits with someone, namely giving someone else her poor eyesight in return for that persons superior eyesight. She had to do a little extra research just to make sure it wouldn't accidentally change her eyes to theirs first, since the Dark Lord had never needed to perform this ritual himself and only knew about it in passing.

Once she was sure of that, it was all about picking her victim. Dudley or his gang would have been easiest, as she could easily steal them away for a ritual, but knew that would be a bit noticeable to the Dursleys. She might enjoy tormenting them a little, but she didn't want to push too hard. It would be a shame if she was forced to kill them when they tried to avenge their son. She would have to pick someone the Dursleys wouldn't care about.

While she could have gone after any random person with ease, her childish side preferred picking on someone who had wronged her, if only to make it feel a little more like justice. The Dark Lady agreed for crueler reasons and began to target an old school bully.

Olivia King had not been part of Dudley's gang, and wasn't the usual physical brute kind of bully. What she did do was put others down verbally. Alice Potter used to cry over the harsh words, as she was told over and over how unpretty she was. Luckily, Alice Riddle liked her looks just fine and was not so easily brought down. But Olivia had not stopped being the same spiteful little brat to others, including on occasion to Webby. Both sides of her brain agreed this was unacceptable behavior, and would be teaching the little girl a lesson.

The small tainted innocence inside Alice thought she might enjoy stalking her prey and plotting cruelty just a little too much, but Alice was used to pushing that voice back and moving forward with her dark side. She spent a while tracking the girl home, noting any friends that came over or other such interruptions that could come into play when she enacted her plan. It turned out she didn't need to be quite so thorough, as Olivia never had anyone over. Did King not have any friends? Well, goes to show that being a bully didn't always work out for people.

Her next step was to quietly break into the house and learn her way around. It was important to learn the layout of the girl's room when she would be alone. After taking note of that, it was all about timing.

Alice decided she would do her ritual on her ninth birthday. It was quickly becoming a thing to consider these rituals as birthday events. Megan was all too willing to help like the little minion she was. And so on the night before her birthday, they snuck together into the house, apparating straight into her room. Olivia King was not yet in her room, however, and the two found themselves waiting in the darkness.

"Don't you look at me that way, bitch!" Both Alice and Megan jumped at the voice of an adult man coming from the direction of the living room and looked at each other. Alice had to listen carefully, and even then the shouting had mostly gotten muffled and mumbled from within the room, but she saw Megan twitch with every word, her elven ears picking it up better. There was a grimace growing between them as they continued to quietly listen.

It was near an hour before the door opened and Olivia entered her bedroom somberly and moved towards the bed without turning on the lights. She didn't see the two figures in a corner of her room, and Alice could guess that teary eyes might have helped their stealth here. Megan was staring at her as though waiting for permission, but her eagerness at the little revenge for the school bully had faded.

Alice debated with herself for a moment if she wanted to go through with this anymore, and once more the dueling opinions of her two sides warred within her. Her inner child (or perhaps she should start calling it her inner Potter instead, with the way it had become so justice minded lately) wanted to give this up and give that father of Olivia's a piece of her mind. The Dark Lady was much more selfish, and desired to continue the ritual, but offered a compromise of also dealing with this father if it would placade the other side of her brain.

The two agreed and Alice nodded quietly as she came to her decision. Megan snapped her fingers and no noise within the room could be heard anymore. Olivia looked around with a start and rubbed her eyes, trying to find the source of the snap. Alice raised her right hand and her magic seized the girl.

Olivia King found herself going from the emotional turmoil of her father's latest drunken ramblings and insults to being terrified out of her mind as she was ripped out of her bed and felt like she was being held tightly in the hand of some massive creature. She screamed, not realizing no one could hear her.

"Megan, be a dear and make her quiet, please. Even if the other muggles can't hear it, I already don't want to hear it." Alice kept her voice cool and calm as she spoke, as if this didn't bother her at all. She was good at acting that way, even with a tinge of guilt at scaring the abused child so much.

The part-elf was quick to obey as always, her fingers snapping towards a drawer that sent a pair of socks flying at the girls mouth, stuffing it and muffling her screams of panic while also quickly making them stick so she couldn't just spit them out. Alice smiled just slightly and noted that she preferred the muffled screams to the full volume ones.

"Olivia, if you don't stop screaming I am afraid you will anger me further," she told the girl, who upon hearing this became quieter. "Much better. Now, I am going to let you down, and when I do, you shall kneel before me like a good girl and stay silent. Failure to obey shall be punished, understand?" Alice allowed her eyes to flash red at this, enjoying the cringe in her victims face. She might feel a bit bad for the girl, but that didn't stop her sadistic inner Dark Lady from loving every moment of this.

Olivia was dropped down to the ground with a thud. Her mind was reeling from the strange nightmare she seemed to have found herself, where that weird Potter girl and that Webby had her so helpless and pathetic. She didn't dare resist, however as she found herself on her knees quickly, looking up at them like a puppy to its owner. A very frightened puppy, at least.

Alice locked her eyes with the girl, and with a touch of Leglilimency allowed the images to flow. The had not been the first time Mr. King had taken out his anger on his child, though the man had at least the decency to not get physical with his daughter. The wife was not quite so lucky at times. Her victim flinched as she shared in the memories forced to the front of her mind, her frightened face now mixed with shame.

"I have a deal for you, King," she said, and noticed Megan perk up a little as she realized this would not be going quite the same as planned anymore. "How would you like it if I took care of a few issues with your dad?"

Olivia's eyes widened at that. Of course whatever answer she gave went muffled since she was still gagged with her own socks. Alice considered telling Megan to remove them, but the sound amused her so she waited. "No more drinking, no more hurtful words, no more hitting your mother. Nod if you think that would be fantastic." She grinned at the slow nodding that quickly followed her words, though she could already see the question of how that was possible in the girl.

"As you now know, Olivia, I can do spectacular things," she mused with pride. "But I won't work for free. I came here with the intention to take something from you, and now I see an opportunity for you to give it to me willingly." A willing offering was usually better for rituals then an unwilling one anyway, and increased the chance of success. "Since I offer you a better life, I think it is fair that you give that life to me in return." She paused as she saw some confusion at this demand. "I will have you swear your service to me. You'll obey my commands and give me whatever I ask of you. In exchange, I will make sure your home life becomes much happier."

She paused again to let that sink in, and noticed Megan frowning now. Oh, her poor little house elf was looking a touch jealous at the idea of her Mistress getting another minion. Alice couldn't help but find the expression simply adorable. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder to alleviate her worries a little. "Nod if you accept, King. This is a one-time offer." There was another nod and Alice found a victorious grin. There was not like take charge of people and turning them into her minions, and it was much better doing it with an enemy then a friend.

Her inner Dark Lady was practically purring in satisfaction. Best compromise with its other half it ever agreed to. Now all she had to do was stretch out the limits of her legilimency on a muggle mind ill prepared for her assault, and easily molded by her will. This was going to be fun.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Olivia King took to grumbling and complaining under her breath when school had begun again. At first, the deal had seemed to work out entirely in her favor. Sure, her vision became blurry and she had to wear glasses (she supposed she'd never be able to call anyone else four-eyes again without making herself feel bad), but Potter had been true to her word, or rather, Mistress Riddle had.

Her father went from a bitter drunk to a pleasant father overnight. He was more hard working then before so she saw him less, but what she did see was a vast improvement, and he no longer bitched at her mother for anything. It took mom a while to get used to the new status quo, but eventually she came to trust that this new man was not going back to his old ways and came out of a shell that she had been living in for a few years. The rest of Olivia's summer was great, and the witch who made it happen didn't seem to be too quick to bother her again.

But then school began, and Olivia was instantly uneasy when she saw Alice Potter smirking at her. The cost was about to become apparent. Over the next week, she had been ordered around, told to carry Alice's books, or fetch some food or drink for her, or any other little choir that came to mind. The evil little girl took no small amount of pleasure in taking her former bully and turning her into a servant.

After that week, Olivia made the mistake of trying to disobey. She had tried to go home before Alice got to her and started ordering her around again. "Oh, trying to escape me, Olivia?" she heard behind her as a shiver of fear rose in her body. "That's quite naughty, my minion, and I think I'll have to punish you for that."

Olivia found herself teleported away to some secret room somewhere for those punishments, where the Dark Lady would practice some 'minor curses' on her while she begged for mercy. She was told that was a light punishment compared to what Alice's 'father' would have done, and Olivia didn't much resist after that.

The once outspoken bully was a much more demure figure by the end of her first month as Alice's servant. Her muttering had ceased after a few light punishments for speaking bad about her 'Mistress'. As intimidated she was, Olivia thought she had actually traded up a little bit in her lot in life. At least Mistress Riddle was often quite pleased with her obedience, which was a far cry to always coming home to a disappointed father.

Once she was trained into obedience, Alice stopped giving her petty tasks for her amusement. Olivia was not sure if this was because Alice had decided to move past some cruelty with her, or if it was because Megan always looked like she wished she was being ordered around as much. In any case, Olivia was given much different assignments as Alice designed a more specialized role for her within the group.

Olivia was made to wake up early every morning and start jogging every day. She was told to eat healthier. After a few weeks of this, she was told to get her father to sign her up for some sort of martial arts lessons. Alice told her she was being molded into being her personal muscle, though Olivia did not understand why. Alice hardly needed it with her power.

"Because I don't need everyone knowing what I can do," she was told. "And there is always a need to send someone else to do my dirty work, or to watch my back and cover the exits." Olivia nodded and obeyed without further question. It wasn't her place to question, after all, and Mistress knew much better than her.

Alice was very pleased to see she was just a good at turning people into loyal, obedient minions as her father. No, in fact, she was sure she was even better.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The acquisition of a second follower awoke a desire to rule that had begun with a little boy in an orphanage long ago. She had not been joking when she claimed she wanted to rule the world. It was a true desire, and every followed command was making her want more and more. Of course, it wasn't an entirely selfish desire on her part, she really did believe she could make a better world if she were in charge of it.

She would start with the magical British Isles first, of course, but as the day her return to the Wizarding World as Alice Potter came closer, she started to really think of what she needed to do. She had a general idea of what the Wizarding World was like on the surface, and the kind of position she would be in. She was famous and adored, and from a noble family to boot. She had been dealt a great hand to play with, but she felt the urge to do more.

She knew she couldn't let little hero Alice Potter be seen doing anything questionable in public, and she had developed an alternative that could step into the shadows in her place. Deliria Lovedoll was an unknown that could step in and do what she needed in the darker parts of this magical world she would claim as her own.

So it was that Deliria began to visit Knockturn Alley a bit more often, her glamour now safe locked within the Locket while in use. Her initial journeys were met with curious suspicion by regulars to the alley, like she could be an auror attempting to go under cover. She could hardly blame them for suspicion, even if it was unwarranted. Lucius was keeping the aurors on a small budget, and they weren't likely to spend it sending their recruits to die in this alley.

Still, the suspicion would work for a while, but she needed the caution to fade at some point. She allowed herself to wander to the dark and deserted corners of Knockturn, letting herself look vulnerable, but it took three days of the laying the bait for her prey to be lured in.

Tom Riddle had started his recruiting in school, where he was rubbing shoulders with both the lower end muscle and the high class heirs of great wealth. Alice Riddle knew she could split her focus, Alice Potter from above and Deliria Lovedoll from below. So Deliria needed to start with the lowest of the low.

Magical Britain had long held a problem of possessing more citizens then career options. They combated this problem by keeping the status of jobless and poor to the unwanted as often as possible, giving little to nothing to Werewolves and Muggleborns. Well, there used to be a problem for Muggleborns, but the aftermath of the war had brought Muggleborns forward closer to the middle class of Wizarding society. Unfortunately, this meant of a few of the purebloods and half-bloods had slipped into the cracks after their families lost their fortunes pushing the Pureblood Agendy.

If Voldemort came back today, they would have been easily recruited into his pocket on the promise of returning their family names to glory. Deliria would have a harder time, since she wasn't going to be pushing that agenda herself, but the Underworld could still be taken with just a bit of cunning and great power.

"Leave your wand a' home, sweetheart?" came a voice behind her, and Deliria smiled as she spun around in the dead end back alley she baited them into. There were three men, which would be a small start but it would do. They were blocking the opening like she couldn't apparate away, but then it wasn't like all of Britain could.

She felt some disappointment as she studied them, two dumb brutes she probably wouldn't even need to remember the names of and a smaller man that had a face she didn't like to see from a man. There was one lesson Tom Riddle's memories could not teach her, that people like this looked at a woman much differently than a man. It was disgusting what thoughts she found bubbling the front of his mind when she looked him in the eyes.

"Oh don' be like tha," said the man in the middle with a cocky grin, noticing her disgusted frown. "I promise I'll go easy on ya. Ya might even like it before we're done."

Deliria sighed. She knew these three were a waste of her talents, but she had her audience and the show must go on. She took a breath and then grinned, letting her confidence show. "I'm sure I am going to enjoy this much more then you, Scabior." She winked as he blinked, surprised by such a simple trick as knowing his name. "As for my wand, I was looking for a new one. How about yours?"

She raised her hand and the man was pulled towards her. He looked startled, and she could hear the thought before he said it. "Auror!" Seriously, they thought any witch that could outdo them must be an auror? Rather prideful, this lot. She snapped his wand out of his hand the moment he raised it before kicking him straight between his legs. If she were honest, she did that solely for the sin of having to witness his dirty mind in person. He deserved it.

"Oh please, do I strike you as a good little girl?" she asked. Two stunners whizzed towards her and she twisted her body around them smoothly as she could. She felt a smile on her face as she realized this was her first official duel, and her eyes shifted red as she lusted for the thrill of it. "Expelliarmus!" she cried, and felt magic moving into light and sailing out of the wand to one of the brutes, who wand flew out of her hand. The other ducked out of the back alley and returned fire from behind cover. Oh, at least one of them appeared to have a brain for this sort of work. With a flick of the wand in her hand she moved her wandless victim in the way of the incoming spells.

"Stunners still?" she called out merrily. "Has Knockturn Alley gotten soft without the Dark Lord or do you just want me alive that bad?" She cackled, and knew she was emulating sweet Bella more than she was her father. "Bombarda!"

She blew a chunk out of the cover he was hiding behind, and he fell back with a grunt. Not even a scream, hmm? That one was worth keeping if she could improve his technique a bit. Another flick and the fallen man was pulled into the alley. Now they were the ones helpless, and Alice was feeling the urge to teach them who this trap was really meant for.

A few more flicks and she had them lined up on the wall, and then waking up the one who was knocked out. Scabior was still reeling from the kick while the other man eyed her wearily. She did a quick scan of the others. Doloric Draper, the stupid one, hadn't done so well at Hogwarts and found out that not a lot of people hired idiots without a single O.W.L. to their name and had spent six years working as hired muscle for whoever would take him on. The other man was younger, only a year out of Hogwarts. Daniel Williams was good Slytherin half-blood boy who wasn't quite so good at house politics. Suddenly found he couldn't get a job in the Ministry after pissing off the wrong rich boy. Oh yes, that was the one she could really make something out of.

"You boys bit off more than you can chew, I think," she mused with a giggle, but her eyes blazed blood red. The combination of girlish giggle and inhuman horror made the men pale as they stared. "I think someone should be punished for that, don't you think? But I am a merciful Mistress with a lot of ambition. So, just answer a simple question, and I'll let you off with a warning. Who do you work for?"

They stared at her silently, but she allowed herself to hold her patience. Draper gave a really stupid look, while Scabior and Williams were both smart enough to let him make the first mistake. "I'm workin' for Scabior," said the dumb one of the three.

She eliminated all thoughts that she was possibly an auror as she pointed her wand at him. "Crucio," she said with a smile, and felt a sadistic rush at his scream. She imagined that without the Dark Lord to draw the heat that the Unforgivable Curses were being less used lately. Wasn't worth a life sentence in peaceful times. The cringe of the other two men made her think her guess was right. She only held the curse for two seconds, but it was enough to make a painful memory that would last a lifetime. "Wrong, Draper, but thanks for making an effort." Her grin turned to the other two. "Let's have another guess."

Williams looked at her wearily as Scabior gulped audibly. "Whatever your name is, Miss," said the young man with a gruff voice that like his tall body made him seem older then he really was.

"That, Williams, is the correct answer. And I can tell you that my name is Deliria Lovedoll, but you can just call me 'Boss'." She gave him a look of approval before turning to Scabior. "Afraid that means it punishment time for you, my new employee." Another quick, and this time silently cast crucio and he was squirming on the ground. "And I'm keeping the wand, I think. We'll just have to get you a new one. I must say, Knockturn Alley gangs have gotten weak over the years. Only Williams really impressed me, though I suppose that's a little unfair to you, Scabior. I did surprise you, after all. Not to worry though, I'm sure it won't be happening again." Her grin held greater menace in it before her red eyes faded into black.

"Now, I know that was a rough interview, Gentlewizards, so I suggest we take a break and get something at the White Wyvern while we talk."


	10. Part 1 Chapter 10 - Inheritance

_**Note:**_ _I have read a lot of fanfiction, and know that in this chapter I am using a lot of common concepts in Harry Potter fanfictions. I apologize if reading any of them again annoys anybody. On a similar note, I know nothing about actually running a criminal organization, so if you think it's going a little too easy for Alice there, just chalk that up to me not knowing. I also provided my own spin for why certain things are the way they are in canon, and I think my reason for Sirius not getting a trial is as good a guess as any._

 **Part 1**

 **Alice Riddle and the Philosopher's Stone**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Inheritance**

The Delirium Gang had to start off small, by necessity. Low on funds, Deliria had to keep her new recruits towards the lower end of the criminal spectrum. They were kept to petty mugging and robbery for the first few weeks, but taught them how to improve in their crafts little by little. Scabior did prove himself to have some talents besides being a sick bastard, and he was a moderately decent duelist and had some connections. Deliria didn't know many people that would be capable of getting chummy with the likes of Fenrir Greyback, so that was a plus in his favor.

Draper was rather useless, a typical muscle brained moron in a world where muscles barely mattered. His only good point was that the man could be intimidating, and he could follow orders now that he knew who the boss was. She could also saw the man was a fearless sort, willing to rush head first into danger on her orders. Since she had to work with it, Deliria deliberately cultivated his obedience, and started charming his robes with a shielding charm. If the brute couldn't defend himself properly, she would use him like a battering ram when the situation called for it.

Williams she knew she could turn into something great, so she worked on him the most. The eighteen year old was smart, strong, and had some instinct for fighting, and all he needed was some refinement. She taught him better spells, and turned him into quite the bodyguard.

But her greatest contribution to the group was not merely polishing their skills, but introducing them to new marks for their business. The Magical World tended to be quite isolationist, and few ventured out into the muggle world for more than a trip to the grocery store. Most wizards could barely understand muggle money, and fear of breaking the statute of secrecy and getting into some bigger trouble kept the criminal element from venturing that path. One reason the Death Eaters were such a danger in their day was how they didn't apparently care about that particular boundary, and had many muggle victims.

Deliria wouldn't go quite as far as the Death Eaters in introducing her gang to the Muggle world. There wouldn't be any terrorism and bombings, and she would especially make sure they didn't start doing any torture or raping on her watch. But burglary was an easy crime in the muggle world. It had been a long time since Wizards would ward their muggle neighbors against so much as a simple Alohomora. It was remarkably easy to use magic in the muggle world for nefarious purposes as long as no one was stupid about it, and Deliria took special care in keeping her boys smart.

There was also some simple forgery that Deliria engaged in with them. Just duplicate a bit of muggle money and spend it, getting change in real money. The duplicated money would disappear on its own within a day. No problems of inflation and low chances of ever being pointed out as a counterfeiter. The Wizarding World was weary of magical counterfeiting, but could only watch for bigger threats with its limited ability to understand and watch the goings on of the Muggle World.

It was small time stuff, but Deliria could not rush this. While her skills were like a rusty inner circle Death Eater, her magical stamina was still close to that of a second year Hogwarts student, at best. She had to be very careful to never show her gang any signs of magical fatigue. Just apparating to and from Knockturn Alley was fairly tiring for the nine-year-old with a teenage glamour.

Having a wand was much more energy conservative then wandless magic, but she still couldn't show off or get really fancy with her spell work. She would have to keep it small time. That being said, when their incomes became steadier, she began to work on recruitment. She started with young, down on their luck individuals. The gang of four turned into a gang of nine, with notable new recruits being Alexander Reath, a sixteen year old werewolf that had to drop out of school and run away from home after being bitten, and Sarah Silvers, a bitter young muggleborn whose parents were rather religious and did not like finding out they had a witch in the family. The Delirium Gang was an inclusive sort of group that way, and Deliria crucio'd anyone in her gang that murmured the word 'mudblood' or gave a weary glance towards the werewolf.

Behavior like this caused people to assume Deliria Lovegood was a 'mudblood' herself as her reputation started to grow. Deliria did not dissuade people of the notion, though people that said that specific word to her face often ended up in Saint Mungo's for a few days under 'mysterious circumstances' and didn't dare do so again. Muggleborn gang leaders usually tended to get smacked down by Half-Bloods and Purebloods looking to prove their blood makes them better, but Deliria was quick to hit her competitors harder than anyone else was willing to hit in the current climate.

The Auror budget had been cut down, and the Hogwarts education was making new recruits harder to find with Potions being so strict and Defense against the Dark Arts drying up of actual decent Teachers thanks to Voldemort's curse on the job. Still, the criminal underworld had been reeling from the power vacuum that the fall of the Death Eaters had caused, and in the early days of peace the Aurors had done a good job of keeping a solid leadership from forming again. No one wanted to get too big again and draw the eyes of the law back towards them.

Deliria was willing to make a bit of a name for herself, so long as that name was not tied to proven crimes. A reputation as a fast duelist with a cruel streak for her enemies and a disciplined gang that seemed to be good at making money was fine with her. After teaching her recruits how to be a better breed of criminal and gaining a reputation of being able to go toe to toe with anyone trying to push her down, Deliria next worked on stabilizing the lives of her gang.

With the money they'd made from a couple months of robbery, Deliria was able to purchase a warehouse in Knockturn Alley. Knockturn Alley warehouses were rather small on the outside, but had undetectable expansion charms on the inside. Of course, without having a lot of stuff to store, it looked like a great big empty room. Next, she splurged to buy each of her gang members rather fancy 'Home in a Trunk'. The enchanted trunks opened up into a living room, and each also had a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. It was better living conditions then this lot would ever get on their own, and Deliria was pleased by the genuine gratitude.

With the Delirium Warehouse as their base of operations, they officially had a territory to defend, and Deliria was quick to have them drive off any rivals from their immediate vicinity. Her low magical stamina made it harder for her to put up a good ward scheme on the building, but she was able to get a few defenses going and used her gang to help power them.

Planning for the future, Deliria decided to introduce the gang to 'Webby'. "Webby here is a part house elf," she began. "Some old illegal breeding project of the Blacks I found. That makes her mine." She eyed them all with a dangerous smile. "And we all know to not touch what is mine, correct?" She waited for their nods and murmured agreements before continuing. "Well, like any good house elf, she likes to cook and clean and be of good service. There are going to be a lot of times when I am away on other business in the future, and in those times, Webby will be acting as my voice to you all. So to any of you that thought you outgrew having a nanny, well you have one anyways."

Megan had been dying to have a bit more work in her life, and Deliria needed to plan for when Alice was off at Hogwarts. Megan was a little nervous about being around the scoundrals, but after a couple months in her service they were trained enough to not piss her off. It also allowed the gang to worry a little less about their own lives to have a part-elf doing all the choirs, and made them feel a little more like what those uppity high class nobles must feel like all the time.

Now that their lifestyles were starting to become stable, Deliria decided to make their incomes even more so. Using Williams as a proxy, Deliria was able to get a business account going at Gringots. Starting a business was a somewhat easy process under the British Ministry of Magic. First, one just needed premises in a magical area, like Knockturn. Then simply register with the Ministry and you were considered a legal business. There was a yearly business tax, and a Lord's tax to the landowner of the warehouse (which happened to by the Notts) but otherwise having a business was easy. It was only making it a successful business that was hard.

The Delirium Gang became more publicly known as 'Delirium Security and Consultancy Agency'. Deliria used this as a front for a protection racket in Knockturn Alley, where her 'agency' would accept a monthly fee from a few Knockturn Alley stores, and in exchance those stores were not bothered by any gang activity. It was technically providing actual security, in that they were willing to fight off any other gangs that saw this scheme and wanted to start their own. Deliria had learned this little muggle criminal scheme was quite profitable.

Deliria's next scheme lay in stepping a toe into the muggle drug market. While there were less Potioneers in the country then previous decades, due in no small part to Severus Snape's run as Potions Professor at Hogwarts, there were still enough that there wasn't much of a market for Potion Addicts in the magical world. But to Muggles, even a simple potion like the Elixir to Induce Euphoria would be a rather tempting drug for their markets.

Deliria brewed the initial batch and poured them into little pills to be swallowed. One swallow and it was quick acting happiness for a couple hours with no bad side effects. She called them 'Deliria's Bliss', but most people just called it 'Bliss' when it came to market. She had Scabior sell it at muggle parties at first, then struck up a deal with a muggle gang for greater distribution. They were quite successful little money makers, and eventually Deliria hired a couple hags to produce more on a regular basis.

This successful business partnership brought her gang into further business arrangements with the Muggle gang, going by the name of the Cursed Crew (which Deliria privately thought was hilarious). After a few talks, Deliria arranged a bit of help for her new friends. While she didn't inform them that her services were actually magical in nature, they would often say she had to be a witch to make crime scenes and criminal records just disappear (cleaning charms work much better at getting rid of finger prints then anything muggle, and sneaking into a police station is surprisingly easy for witches and wizards), as well as making bobbies casually forget them (notice-me-nots and memory charms are good for that sort of thing). She hoped no magical authorities heard that particular bit of praise one day and connected the dots.

In return, Deliria and Scabior got a much better look at how muggle criminals ran their operations, and took some notes. "I'll never think a muggles better than me, Scabior, but they certainly seem to have to think a lot more without magic to solve things, and I'm starting to like a few of those thoughts."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

While rising Crime Lady Deliria Lovegood's life was full of business, Alice was living the normal life. Her time in her alternate persona helped stave off the boredom and she appreciated spending her innocent time with her friends. She didn't necessarily know what she would be doing with Olivia King in the long term, but for now she became the second confident of who Alice Riddle was. She had vague notions of turning her into some kind of enforcer when the girl grew up, but for now just let the girl take shape slowly. Maybe she would mess around with more Blood Magic and Alchemical Chimeras eventually, but there was no rush to experiment on her second minion.

Movies, school, talking about what the future would be like after Alice took over the world. The times were good, and Alice had some balance between her two sides. She was a child with her friends and a Dark Lady with her criminal organization. She wondered if she would stretch herself thin when the third pillar that would be her public persona as Alice Potter came around, but that was still a while away she told herself.

But time flies when one is having fun.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

When she had turned ten, she knew it wouldn't be long now. She mentally prepared herself for it. She knew she would be different from all the other witches and wizards, because she knew what to expect from Hogwarts. It would be more about the people, not the educational experience. She knew this, and yet she found herself getting excited. It felt like she was going home at last. The Dursley home would never be her home, just as the orphanage had never been home for Tom, but Hogwarts was home to him once, and it would be home to her as well.

The letter came for her about a week before her eleventh birthday. It was addressed to Ms. A. Potter, as expected, and she found it slightly amusing that it specified her being in the 'Smallest Bedroom'. She decided to read the letter at the kitchen table, and small smile to her aunt and uncle as though daring them to complain at the sight of her Hogwarts Invitation. Aunt Petunia frowned, either in disgust or fright Alice wasn't sure, while Uncle Vernon tried to ignore that she exist, as he often did since being shown he had no control over her.

It was of course the standard letter, which had not changed much since Tom Riddle was a boy. "Well, I think it's time I went out for my school shopping," she announced to the room before standing up. She left without expecting an answer, just enjoying the little flinch they had when they realized she was on the verge of becoming more magical, since they didn't know she was already perfectly knowledgeable in how to turn the lot of them into pigs if she wanted.

She disapparated from the house a short time later and appeared in an alleyway near the Leaky Cauldron. She allowed herself a bit of time to sort herself out before she walked to the entrance of the old pub and recognized a much older Tom the Barman. He grabbed her attention on coming in and he had his usual new customer smile. "Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron," he said. "I guess the letters have started coming out, eh?"

"Yes, sir," she said politely, her face alight like… well, like a child shopping for her first year at Hogwarts. She didn't even have to feign the excitement much, as this was an exciting day. Alice pushed a strand of hair out of her face to very subtly allow a glimpse towards the scar she had heard was the famous marker of who she was. It was time to see just how famous she really was.

Alice held back a smirk as she was the barman's face shift immediately. "Good lord," he exclaimed in awe. "Are you- could you be-?" Alice could practically feel the sudden silence in the pub as every witch and wizard in the building found their attention towards the scene as it was happening.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender. "Alice Potter… what an honor." It might have been a whisper, but the pub was quiet enough that everyone heard it even as the man rushed out from behind his bar. He seized her hand as she just barely raised it, with tears in his eyes. "Welcome back, Ms. Potter, welcome back."

Alice didn't know what to say. She had been preparing for this moment for months, if not years really, and yet as she looked the man in the eyes and could see the emotion in his eyes without even a touch of legilimency, she found herself overwhelmed. She was able to smile warmly, but she couldn't find any words to say. It seemed to be enough for the man, but her eyes scanned around and saw that everyone was staring at her.

The silence was broken with several scraping chairs, and suddenly she found herself shaking hands with everyone who had come in for a mid-day drink or a quick lunch. On occasion, she found herself peering into a mind here and there. Only maybe one of every ten people was only shaking her hand because she was famous. Everyone else had flashes of people they had lost in their mind, or attacks they had managed to survive.

Alice Potter was considered a savior to these people and somewhere inside her Alice Riddle felt guilty for not being the innocent little hero they were all expecting. They were looking at her like she was Jesus Christ reborn, and Alice felt more like some sort of Antichrist figure fooling them all. She hadn't felt quite this guilty since she'd killed Kreacher. Least she could still say Alice Potter was alive and well inside her somewhere, since Tom Riddle would have never felt guilty over people mistaking him for Jesus and abusing their faith in him.

It was two hours of constant well-wishers before she finally announced loudly, yet politely, that she had to go to Gringotts, but would be very pleased if someone could show her the way. She regretted this wording when a small fight broke out over people trying to win the right to show her into Diagon Alley for the first time.

Being famous was going to be a lot harder on Alice then she had originally thought. Being loved was a much different experience then being feared, and even at his most popular, Head Boy Tom Riddle had never been so taken to, not even by his prototype Death Eaters.

In the end an excitable witch named Doris Crockford seemed to win the honor of showing Alice Potter where the goblin-run bank was. Alice did the usual look of awe at Diagon Alley like she was only seeing it for the first time, and had a feeling she was making the witches day with just this little bit of acting. Doris was rather vocal about telling 'Ms. Potter' all about everything they passed by in Diagon Alley, and Alice could see many people stopping their shopping to get a look at her as she kept shouting the name. Alice had a feeling getting her shopping done by the end of the day was going to be hard.

She left the woman at the doorstep of Gringotts with a smile and a handshake, personally thanking her for showing her the way but firmly assuring her she would be able to find her way from here. If she were lucky, some of the fervor at her arrival would die down by the time she got done with business in the bank.

This was her first time in the bank herself, as she hadn't wanted her Deliria persona to be potentially found out by Gringotts Goblins, as they were some of the few magical creatures that were still using wards designed to detect Glamours. She found herself going to the nearest non-busy goblin's stall. He looked up at her sharply, his eyes narrowed. "I am Alice Potter, and I need an accounting of my estate and then a visit to my vault."

"Do you have your key, Miss Potter?" asked the Goblin.

"I do not," she informed him. "I assume it was lost in the attack."

The goblin nodded at this thoughtfully. "You will need to take an inheritance test to verify your identity." Alice merely nodded as the Goblin said something in Gobbledygook and an assistant rushed to fill his needs. It took only a minute before a piece of parchment and a quill were pushed in front of the young witch. "You understand what a Blood Quill is, Miss Potter?"

"Yes," she said, seeing less need to feign ignorance to the Goblins then to other people. She took the quill and wrote the name "Alice Lily Potter" on the line of the parchment in blood, grimacing just slightly as the back of her hand split open and then resealed itself. The name disappeared, and the goblin frowned. Alice blinked.

"That must not be your name," said the goblin dangerously, and Alice heard goblins around her stop.

"Oh," she said, loud enough so only goblin ears would hear it. She didn't want any of the wizards and witches going about their business to hear anything about this. She looked back up to the goblin with a significant look. "I'd added to my name recently, but the Hogwarts letter used my old one so I assumed it was just… Mental."

The goblin looked at a few of his colleagues, and made a motion towards the armored goblin guards that had been walking her way. "Try again. You will not like what happens if you lie again."

Alice gave him a stare that said she did not fear him. Goblin threats were not so threatening to Alice Riddle, and if she needed to she was sure she could overpower them and escape their territory. But that wouldn't have been a smart move in the long run. She looked back down and wrote "Alice Lily Marvolo Potter Riddle" down.

She heard the goblin mouth 'Riddle' numbly. She was rather hoping no one would know that outside of her most trusted friends, and she found her eyes going to any of the goblins around her. A few were now looking at her with some level of fear. She imagined if Tom had ever known they knew his birth name in his time as the Dark Lord, he might have killed them. Her respect for goblins went up considerably now that she knew they were capable of figuring that one out. Most witches and wizards didn't, after all.

"Well, in some ways he was my father, you see," she decided to admit. "He is just as responsible for who I am today as my parents are for my birth." She didn't know why she felt the need to justify her result of the identity crisis she had when she was seven to the goblins, but there it was.

She looked back down to see her inheritance. Other words had appeared below her signature, which also seemed to be written in scarlet blood.

 _Alice Lily Marvolo Potter Riddle_

 _First and Only Blood Daughter of Lord James Charlus Potter and Lady Lily Janette Potter (nee Evans)_

 _Spiritual Daughter of Tom Marvolo Riddle_

Alice paused in her reading to smile, rather glad the parchment had decided to confirm her own thoughts on things. She had partially wondering if it would count that half of her soul as the offspring of Tom's parents, but instead it had agreed with her that she was a separate enough person from Voldemort even if she had a bit of his soul in her. Another thought that occurred to her was if that change showed up in her blood, if perhaps some of the changes would have stuck to her body even if she exorcized the soul out. Would she still have Parseltongue perhaps? And even with the soul, would any children she had share the gift as though she were a blood daughter of the House of Gaunt? Well, things to consider later if and when she had children, she supposed.

 _Heir to the Noble House of Potter_

 _Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

 _Heir to the Fallen House of Gaunt (in contention)_

 _Heir to the Fallen House of Peverell (in conjunction)_

 _Heir to the Fallen House of Slytherin (in conjunction)_

Alice looked back up and pointed at the titles. "I am not sure how I became the Heir to the House of Black, nor how I am an heir to the House of Peverell. Nor how to solve the contentions."

"Your account manager should be able to clear these issues up for you," said the goblin. "Ragnok is the account manager for the Potter account and would be available today."

Alice nodded. Within a few minutes she found herself led to an office that was rather well decorated. Ragnok was obviously higher on the ladder with the Goblins, but his stony face told her he had been made aware of the oddities of his newly returned customer. The goblin she had been speaking with lay the parchment before him and whispered for just a few moments before leaving the two alone with the door to the office closed.

"Miss Riddle," he said, nodding towards a seat in front of him. She took the seat and looked up to him, waiting for him to continue. "I have heard your questions, and I can inform you that you have been named as the Heir of Sirius Black in his will."

"His will?" she repeated. "He died, then?" She remembered reading that the man had gotten the rat traitor in the end, but she had not read any more about him.

"No, but he is serving a life sentence in Azkaban."

Alice blinked. And then she stared at him for a long moment before blinking again. "… Why?" she managed to say after a moment. Had the loss of two of his friends and the betrayal of another driven the man mad or something? What could hitwizard Sirius Black possibly do to get sent to Azkaban? As she thought about it, she imagined perhaps Lucius had cleverly gotten him locked away in a bid to secure his own son as the only legal heir outside prison.

"He was a Death Eater, arrested after betraying the Potters and killing Peter Pettigrew."

Alice stared once more at the goblin in front of her. When she opened her mouth to speak, she found her voice instead producing a rather loud, high laugh. She laughed for several seconds before she found herself able to control herself again. "I didn't know goblins had such a good sense of humor," she mused, wondering if she was dreaming.

The goblin blinked at her. "I am not joking, Miss Riddle, I assure you."

Alice considered laughing again, but discovered the humor of it was fading. She raised her arm to her cheek and pinched it slightly just to confirm this was real. "Account Manager Ragnok, I apologize if this makes me come across as a silly little girl, but I think I need you to tell me again what it is believed Sirius Black is to me."

Ragnok looked at the girl with what was starting to look like sympathy. He seemed to be under the belief that she was in shock from learning who betrayed her parents. Alice didn't really know goblins could feel much sympathy for witches, but maybe the Potter family had been on good terms with their account manager. "Sirius Orion Black was under oath as a secret keeper of the Potter family's location during the war. He also happened to be your godfather. After betraying your parents, he went on a rampage and killed his friend Peter Pettigrew and a dozen muggles before surrendering to authority."

Alice took a breath, and tried to keep calm. She didn't really know Sirius Black herself, outside of a few of his activities during the war. She had no real reason to feel angry on the man's behalf. And yet, she could not imagine the man sitting in a high security cell, suffering for something he didn't do. A sudden loathing of Azkaban and inept law keepers overtook her at the injustice of it. The question of how the man could have slipped through the cracks so thoroughly came to mind. "I assume much of this came to trial?" she asked stiffly.

"He was denied trial, and the Black Family Solicitor did not push for one."

Well of course he didn't, he would have defaulted to Lucius' opinion. Alice continued to stare, while she imagined destroying Azkaban block by block. She could imagine it now, half the Death Eaters claiming the Imperius defense and the Wizzengamot struggling to keep the other half in prison. Only those true believers like Bella went into Azkaban proudly like it was a badge of honor, most fought tooth and nail to get out of it. If no one was defending Black's interests, they weren't going to just give the man an opportunity to claim Imperius like everyone else.

Alice's face broke into a look of pain and put it into the palm of her hand. "What the hell am I going to do with this," she murmured. As Wormtail was dead, she had no way of getting that man out of prison legally on short notice. As his apparently named heir on the day he died, she could start to push for a trial for him at least, but if she knew the Wizzengamot, they would drag their feet through the thing, some of them for the entirely noble purpose of keeping a Death Eater in prison.

She couldn't exactly tell people she knew better because she had Voldemort's memories. That would just cause more problems.

"Now, as for how you arrived to be in contention for the House of Peverell," came an interruption of her thoughts back Ragnok. Alice was actually somewhat grateful for the distraction from this headache. "That was is a bit more simple. When the Peverell line went extinct in the male line, the inheritance of their Fallen House was split between the two houses that still maintained their lineage in the female line, namely the House of Gaunt and the House of Potter."

Alice blinked at that. She was doing a lot of surprised blinking lately. A pity old Tom never decided to do a proper Gringotts inheritance test and only ever did his own. He had once done one to confirm himself as an Heir of Slytherin. He had never checked to see if he could have inherited lines from anyone else of note. She nodded to show she understanding of that.

"What does it mean to be in conjunction as Heir to the House of Peverell and the House of Slytherin exactly?"

"That relates somewhere to the similar question of how to solve a contention," said Ragnok. "A House is declared fallen when there is no one around to keep its name. From there, each house has its own rules on who is to be considered as the Heir to their house. To be in conjunction means that there are multiple Heirs to the House remaining. As I recall, both the House of Slytherin and the House of Peverell have special conditions to graduate from an Heir to a Head of House. What those conditions were has been lost to time."

The goblin pointed a long finger to her title in the House of Gaunt. "To be in contention for a Fallen House, however, means that someone is in the position of head of house, and has more than one heir without naming either. As I recall, the Gaunt condition was only for a male descendant to reach the Age of Majority to become the Head of House." A rather grim expression came to the goblins face, which was impressive since they were a fairly grim-faced people already. "The contention means that the Head of House is still alive to decide between the Heirs."

"Ah," she murmured calmly. "That won't likely be a problem for long. I assume as a female Heir I am incapable of taking the title of Head of the House of Gaunt, then?" Ragnok seemed rather surprised at her rather blasé reaction to the Dark Lord Voldemort still being alive, but of course she knew he was. He still technically lived through his Horcruxes, at least until she was able to systematically rip the souls back out of them. She imagined, since she was concerned his daughter and not the man himself, that this would successfully render her a true orphan again.

"That is correct, as long as the current Head does not change the rules, as is his right."

"That's unlikely," she noted to herself. "But I suppose there is a chance of getting the position for these other two. I would like to know the rights and responsibilities for the Houses of Slytherin and Peverell."

"The Head of House is able to rewrite the rules of inheritance for the house, and can legally take on the name to revive the house in full if they wish. A Head of the House of Slytherin would still claim one fourth ownership of Hogwarts Castle and surrounding lands, which would give you some say in how the school is run."

"What would it take to revive either house?" she wondered out loud.

"A mere public declaration of it," said Ragnok. "However, as head of an active house, you will need to take on an spouse and an heir in that name only."

Alice kept herself from giving another surprised blink. It had been a long time since polygamy started being frowned upon, but she could only imagine the looks on people's faces if a woman had started looking for multiple husbands. Up until the rise of the Witch's League in 1899, Britain had a nasty sexism in its wizarding populace that was not as common internationally as it had been in the Muggle world. Magic was usually an equalizer between the sexes, but Britain went another way from the rest of the world for a few hundred years.

Even now, a few houses, like the House of Black and the House of Gaunt, still wouldn't allow a woman to become it's Head of House. In these sexist times, there had been some allowance for Polygamy, and when the Ministry of Magic came into power, a few allowances were made for inheritors of multiple Houses. With a few laws more in favor of woman nowadays, she could now enjoy the privaleges that men had.

Alice giggled at the very idea and shook her head. "I don't think I will, but I'll keep that option in mind if I ever change my mind and have a couple of those headships. Now, as to the other two heirships in my name."

"As the named Heir to the House of Black, if you were male, you would be capable of becoming the Head of House on the day of Sirius Black's death, and could take the title of Lord Black. However, as a woman, that title will instead drop to your first born son." Alice nodded. "The Potters, however, will allow for a woman to take the Headship and take the title of Lady Potter."

"So what is stopping me from being Lady Potter already?"

Ragnok stood up and moved towards a box on a shelf behind him, pulling it out and opening it. There in the box sat a ring, a signet ring, with the insignia looking like some sort of flower. She would have to look up the significance of the symbol later, she knew rather little about the Potter family itself. "This is the Lord's Ring of House Potter, which was created with the formation of the Wizzengamot."

Alice could vaguely recall her father wearing a ring besides his wedding band when he died, but she might be filling in the detail now as she stared at the ring. She picked up the ring and was a little surprised when it responded by sliding onto her pinky finger on her left hand and shrinking itself to match her size.

"You are now Lady Potter," said the goblin. "When you reach age of Majority, you will be able to claim the Potter seat on the Wizzengamot. You now have all the rights and privileges of a Lord of Britain, and the responsibilities as the Head of the House of Potter."

Alice sat for a moment, staring at the ring and grinning slightly. 'Here I am truly one upping you now, Tom. I'm an actual Lady, while you've still only ever pretended to be a Lord.' "I think I would like a list of my holdings now."

As Ragnok drew up some documents, Alice found she did not own much for a Noble Lady. The Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow was a wreck currently being kept as a memorial, and Potter Manor had of course been destroyed by a Death Eater attack. She still owned the land Potter Manor had stood on, but that wasn't worth much now. The Potter fortune was still of decent size in her vault, enough to live comfortably, but it was not what it used to be. The Potters had been funding the war effort against the Dark Lord throughout the war, and it had cost them a lot of gold.

On the plus side, she was the landowner of Quality Quidditch Supplies, and received a Lord's Tax from the place for a steady income. That was something to with anyways. She also had received various donations from people in thanks for her part in stopping the Dark Lord, as well as a bounty from the Ministry of Magic. It would be enough to start with.

Sadly, everything else she had stood to inherit was currently missing or thought to be destroyed. From family portraits to some cloak the Potter's had inherited from the Peverells, all was missing but her vault and the signet ring on her finger. It was hard not to feel bad that there was almost nothing left of her blood parents to remember them by save a name and eyes that looked back at her in a mirror. With that, she was able to retrieve some spending money for her school supplies from her vault and move on with her life. She had a lot of things she needed to think about now that she was out of the bank.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Wand and the Train

**Chapter 11**

 **The Wand and the Train**

Alice found herself slightly worried about what the Goblins were left thinking about her as she left the building. She had heard a couple other goblins refer to her as Lady Potter as she left, but she knew enough of them had heard about her signing her name as Alice Riddle. She hoped they would just imagine some strange magics had been at work one Halloween night to make that happen, and technically speaking that was indeed what happened, even if it took place over two Halloween nights altogether.

Rather than lose herself in her thoughts, she continued to walk on as if there were no issues on her mind save getting her shopping done. She was glad to find that there were less people looking her way as though she were some great celebrity, and had an idea that the shock of her entrance into the alley had worn off. She rather hoped it didn't start up again while she was shopping.

As she was walked, she decided since she had already let a bunch of goblins know her a little too well, she might as well get Ollivanders out of the way first. The wand maker had always made a young Tom Riddle feel odd, as the man seemed to be able to read him so well. Alice thought he might be a legilimens. She imagined that would help him guess what wands would work for people.

Scabior's stolen wand had served her well enough, but Alice could not be seen using the same wand as Deliria Lovedoll, and besides she would prefer to have a wand properly matched to her. The dark wand had submitted to her will, but it had not chosen her, and her memories of Tom Riddle made her get the feeling that her own wand would feel much better to use. Tom too could use other wands with ease, but only his own wand had ever felt like it belonged in his fingers. Alice wanted that feeling as well.

Alice looked around the seemingly unmanned shop as she entered the door, the tinkling bell ringing in her ears. So many wands, and she knew that some of them were older than the current Ollivander himself, made by his ancestors before him, still waiting for a witch or wizard that might be a match for them. She remembered Tom asking him when he had been here.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice, and Alice managed not to jump. She wondered if the man had mastered silent apparition, or if he was just that stealthy.

"Good afternoon, sir," she replied with a curtsy of greeting.

"Ah yes," said the old wandmaker. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you here, Lady Potter." Alice did not notice him glance at either her scar or her signet ring to realize her identity, and she had to admit she was impressed. He was looking her right in the eye, but there was no presence of a legilimens trying to get at her secrets. It seemed she would never know quite how the man could read people so well. "You have your mother's eyes." Alice smiled at that. She was rather proud of that particular feature of her mothers, and being reminded of it was nice. She just hoped it never got tiring to hear it in future.

For a while he seemed to lose himself in memories as he recited what her parents wands were like, though he moved closer and was unblinking as he did so. Alice knew her parents had been buried with their wands, she had read about it. She still hadn't gone to visit their graves even as she knew where they were. She frowned as Ollivander came up far too close and finally seemed to pay a glance. "And that's where…"

He touched her scar before Alice took a step back. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said, even softer than his usual speaking voice. She blinked, surprised he was apologizing for that. It sounded like a sincere apology. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" He shook his head sadly.

"Hardly your fault, nor the wand's," she said, finding her voice was almost as soft as his own. "I won't punish the wand if I ever find it the way I would punish the man." She remembered it as a rather good wand, after all. But then, she had a soft spot for a few of Voldemort's tools.

Ollivander's lips twitched slightly at that before he nodded his head. "Well now, Lady Potter, let me see… Which is your wand arm?" Alice quickly found herself going through a somewhat familiar routine. She recalled Tom had been a hard one to match, too. She went through several wands, perhaps a few more then the Dark Lord.

Just when he seemed to note that she was being tricky, he pulled out one more wand with a curious look in his eyes as he handed it over. Alice felt something different. It was familiar but different from the feeling she recalled Tom had. She raised the wand over her head and with a switch she saw red and silver sparks shoot out the end of it.

Ollivander congratulated her on being found by her wand at last, but noted how curious it was that this wand would choose her. "What's so curious?" She thought his stare looked just a little stranger then usual.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Lady Potter. Every single wand." A rather impressive memory after this many years, but she didn't doubt it. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather – just one other." Alice knew what he was getting on about before he even finished telling her. She stared at the box he had put her wand in for a moment.

"Irony or destiny, I wonder," she said he finished. Great things, indeed. A sister core in a different wood. That did seem to describe her rather nicely. This was certainly the only wand that could have been meant for her. After she left Ollivander's, the rest of her shopping day proved to be a much more normal affair, save a few glances by those who recognized who she was.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice spent several days making sure everything was in order before she left. Megan and Olivia would continue to attend Muggle School, though Alice could maintain contact with them easily enough through the part-House Elf who would come when she was wanted. The Delirium Agency was doing brilliantly and would be able to handle themselves without her direct supervision, though Megan would be able to tell her if something urgent came up that absolutely required her attention. She made sure all her possessions were in order, and kept checking her list to make sure she had required everything for school.

She found herself once more oddly nervous, despite going to an environment she should have found more comfortable. She had plenty of memories of Tom Riddle building his own following in school, and yet Alice felt nervous about making her own friends, and under the nose of Dumbledore who would no doubt be on the lookout for another rising Dark Lord and would be sure to spot any obvious signs of her following down that path.

Her inner Dark Lady admonished her inner child for making her so nervous. She should know she would be perfectly fine, and besides, if she kept worrying it would weaken her skill at Occlumency and make her slip up around either of the two known Legilimens she knew to reside at the school.

Another concern was that she was going to be getting the trace put on her. A young Tom Riddle had figured out how to temporarily disrupt the trace when he was fifteen, and Alice was sure she could follow his example, but it was going to be quite annoying to do so. But it was going to be annoying having to watch her magic and pay careful note of when she was disrupting it and when she wasn't. But that she would have to worry about more when next Summer came, or if she snuck out the castle. The improper use of magic office usually didn't pay attention doing the school year itself, but there was always an off chance of someone catching a glimpse while they walked by. It was just one more thing to keep in mind.

Assured of her preparedness, Alice went off and apparated near King's Cross station. The station was packed with people, and Alice was mentally impressed with whatever team was watching the gateway this year, as she couldn't spot a Ministry employee with ease this year. But then, she imagined the Ministry was a little less careless with their most public employees then when Tom Riddle had been a boy. Two different major wizarding wars did produce some changes in how things were run.

Alice was a bit early, so she took a few more moments to notice how different the train station was compared to when Tom was a kid, knowing that when she got to Platform 9 ¾ she would be seeing much less changes. The muggle world really did change a lot faster than the wizarding one did.

She didn't pause before going through the barrier. A few families were already on the Platform, but it would be another ten minutes before the platform got as crowded as it usually was. The Hogwarts Express looked as brilliant as ever, and Alice smiled like it was an old friend. She noticed there were a couple less cars then when Tom was a child, but Alice imagined the Wizarding World was still recovering from a population decline due to the war. Alice remembered a lot of pregnant mothers had been killed by Voldemort in the year of her birth to try to prevent the birth of his destined adversary, and thought she might have less potential friends her age.

Alice got onto the train and found an empty compartment to sit herself down in. She started to feel a tingly feeling, which Alice thought could have been the Trace starting to attach itself to her. She had always wondered when specifically the Trace was applied, and seemed to have her answer. This was the reason even young witches and wizards in Hogsmeade had to go to London and take the train with everyone else.

With that intellectual curiosity now off her mind, Alice was starting to feel a bit lonely, as her new pet owl had already been sent of flying to Hogwarts to await her. She thought Circe might have been a bit bored waiting in a train with her, as she was quite the active owl and didn't seem to like being caged up, not that Alice could blame her there.

A few minutes of staring about her compartment and wishing she had not arrived quite so early or at least had thought to bring a book she hadn't already read ahead through, she began to hear more chatter and now. She knew families were arriving, and seeing off their children. Alice wondered what it was like to be given the whole 'we'll miss you' routine by loving parental figures, as neither she nor Tom would ever know that particular experience.

'Damn lucky non-Orphans,' she cursed bitterly in her mind. Though she supposed she would likely have a few fellow orphans this year. Still, the image of her own parents being alive to see her off, giving her not-so-helpful last minute advise and tearing up at the thought of their little girl going off to school made Alice jealous of the kids who would never truly appreciate how precious a gift it was to have that sort of love in their lives.

Alice heard footsteps coming towards her compartment and prepared herself for the inevitable social interactions. She saw some older students walk by, an occasional glance towards hers, though they seemed inclined to dismiss sitting with someone younger. Alice had thought a few people would be more on the lookout for her, but then few people knew much about her appearance other than the scar on her forehead which was currently hidden with her curly black hair. She just looked like a normal, uninteresting first year girl.

Perhaps she should just enjoy her short time of anonymity while it lasted, because at least by the time of the Sorting everyone would know who she was. Alice wondered if this fame was going to be as annoying as her childish side thought it would be.

"You alone in here?" came a male voice. Alice was plucked out of her thoughts and looked at a boy who seemed to also be a first year, judging by the like of colored lining in his robes. The boy was a bit tall for his age, and skinny, with dark brown hair and black eyes. She thought he had the look of a Nott about him. Alice nodded quietly while she studied him. He in turn studied her, narrowing his eyes. "Are you pureblood?"

Alice had to refrain from rolling her eyes, which took some effort. Was the next generation being raised to be quite so obvious about their ideologies? If this one went to Slytherin, she would bemoan the modern ideal of what 'cunning' seemed to mean. "No, I'm a halfblood."

He frowned at that. "What house are you planning on being in?" Well, at least the boy had a second qualifier for what was worth his company, apparently, and one that actually mattered just a little more in Alice's eyes.

"Slytherin," she replied with a slight smile. As much as she might want to hide the sort of person she really was, she knew she was far too ambitious to end up in any other house at this point. The ring on her finger was currently disillusioned, to avoid people acting on their best behavior on the word go. She would rather see people a little candid before they started buttering up to her for her title.

The Nott boy smiled back. "Best house, of course," he said back. "I and a few friends are also quite sure we'll end up there together. Would you mind the company?" While her first impression was not the most positive, Nott was already turning it around now that she qualified as someone worth sitting around. It was good to see House loyalty was already trumping blood status for now.

"Won't mind at all," she replied, her hand sweeping over the seats to invite him in. He nodded and took a seat, but kept his head leaned out for his friends. Were the next generation of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters planning to sit together, or did Nott had a different click? Alice assumed the former, and was rather grateful he had not yet decided to ask for her name. This could be interesting.

"Here," he called upon seeing familiar faces, and swiftly the compartment started to fill up as four other first year students came in, all four of whom Alice was able to name the father of off the top of her head without asking for their names.

Two brutish looking boys, clearly the next generation of Crabbe and Goyle, were already flanking a blonde haired Draco Lucius Malfoy, who looked very much like his father with only the smallest touches of the Blacks in him. But it was the fourth child that caught Alice's attention, because had wanted the loyalty of this girl since the day she took the name Alice Riddle.

The girl looked much like her mother in the face. Alice was surprised to see black eyes, but the rest of her was not as surprising. She had long straight black hair, and a regal air that made one feel like they were looking on the face of some royal offspring. Of course, she was probably raised as though she were royalty. She was a pretty young girl who would one day be a beautiful young woman. Her name was Eris Bellatrix Lestrange.

On one side, Malfoy sat in the middle, flanked by the boys who were practically born to serve as his retainers, and on the other Alice sat by the window next to the Lestrange heir with Nott being the closest to the door.

The group glanced in Alice's direction curiously as they sat. "She's a halfblood going for Slytherin," Nott informed them to answer their questioning gaze.

"Didn't even ask for a name before asking for her blood status, Theodore?" asked Lestrange with a role of her eyes. "I am fairly sure you've been raised with better manners then that." She turned to Alice and smiled politely. "Unlike him, I don't forget a my curtesy so easily. I'm Eris Lestrange, pleased to meet you." She gave a glance around the room, her raised eyebrow telling the others that they should follow her lead.

"Draco Malfoy," said the blonde, who then looked to his bodyguards, who lacked the brains to understand it was there turn. He sighed at the silence. "And this is Crabbe and Goyle." Not even introducing them by their first names, as though knowing it wouldn't likely matter. The next generation was not inspiring when looking at those two.

"Theodore Nott," said Nott at last, blushing from embarrassment after being told how rude he'd been.

"Impressive family names," mused Alice, sounding impressed and humbled, as well as looking the part. "I think I am perhaps out of my class among the lot of you. Few are as wealthy and powerful as your families."

"Yes, that's true," said Malfoy, preening. Lucius' haughtiness was already making quite the showing in his son, and Alice could already see the boy had been spoiled by his parents. That could be a problem, and it might take some effort to break any bad habits with him. "We are definitely the social elite, but if you're going to be in Slytherin then you'll get the privilege of rubbing shoulders in our circles."

'Or the privilege of bending your circle to surround me, pet,' Alice thought to herself, suppressing the amusement from showing on her face. He was going to be easy to manipulate and mold to her own uses, she could tell. A glance told her that of the lot, only Lestrange raised a curious eyebrow. Good, the girl was smart enough to notice Alice hadn't given her own name just yet.

"Though you'll only be seeing a little of me before we get to the castle," continued Malfoy. "Father instructed me to attempt to get into the good graces of Alice Potter. She's returning to our world, you know."

"Everyone knows that," said Nott. "Not sure she'll be all she's cracked up to be, though."

Lestrange allowed herself to get distracted from the unknown with this conversation. "Well, she is the Lady of a Noble House, at least," she said. "That combined with her fame is at least worth an attempt at making her proper. Though she'll likely be a Gryffindor, with her parents, and we know how that house can ruin even the good ones."

Alice chuckled out loud, too amused to attempt to hide it. "Not sure how proper you could make her," she mused. "I heard she was raised by muggles. Can you imagine?"

Predictably, a disgusted look came on all their faces, and even Crabbe and Goyle seemed to have enough brainpower to form an opinion on that one.

"Just another reason to try to salvage her while she's still unsorted," said Lestrange thoughtfully. "Get to her early enough and we can maybe undo the damage of Dumbledore's pro-muggle indoctrination methods." Alice held back from laughing, but only barely. Is that what the purebloods believed? That her going to the muggles was supposed to indoctrinate her into being a pro-muggle political weapon? If that was Dumbledore's intention, he had messed up in the extreme. "Besides, the girl owes me."

"She does?" asked Alice, surprised by this assertion.

"Yes," said Lestrange, a coolness coming to her face and voice. Ah, there was her father in her looks. "Because of her I didn't get to grow up with my parents. Way I see it, she can make up for it by becoming an asset for me."

"Well, you probably won't have to work hard on breaking any indoctrination," mused Alice, deciding to break the mystery. "After all, not like my aunt and uncle ever did anything to make me very pro-muggle anyways." She paused for that to sink in, and gave an amused smirk when every eye in the room widened as they stared at her.

"Oh, right, didn't introduce myself properly either, did I?" she said. "My name is Alice. Apparently, I'm a rather valuable asset."

Lestrange's eyes flashed in anger for a moment before she hid her true feelings behind a cooler mask. That was going to be troublesome to deal with. It seemed the girl was a bit more deeply angered at the loss of her parents then she was willing to let on. If Alice wasn't watching for it, she might not have noticed the flicker of true emotion. A normal child would have been fooled.

"And here you were saying you didn't belong in our class, Lady Potter," she said, a false friendly smile plastering itself on her face. "I think I see a bit of Slytherin cunning there, though I am surprised you want to be in the House of Snakes. I would think efforts would have been made to turn you against the likes of us."

Alice allowed the disillusioned ring to reveal itself and waved off the curtesy. "Just Alice, please, I'm not exactly used to thinking of myself as Lady Potter," she said. "And I wouldn't say I am choosing anything, so much as I am much too ambitious to go anywhere else. Would be easier to look the part of a hero playing the brave Gryffindor, but I just don't have it in me to fake the role." The desire to take over the wizarding world and shape it into what she wanted it to be was generally just too Slytherin an ideal to be placed anywhere else.

"Well that will be a surprise for the majority, I think," mused Lestrange. "And a surprise to us too, I think. You aren't acting nearly how I would expect a muggle raised Alice Potter to act. I thought I'd have to fight down the 'all Slytherins are evil' thoughts at the very least."

"Good and Evil are words, not realities," waved off Alice, and she saw a small grin come to the other girl's face.

"Too true," she mused. "Well, Draco, looks like you won't have to look up and down the train for her after all."

"Sure she's really Potter?" said Goyle. Apparently the Potter signet ring wasn't enough for him, or he didn't properly understand the significance of it. "She hasn't shown the scar." While Crabbe nodded as though this were sage advice, Malfoy and Nott rolled the eyes at the thickness of their 'friends'.

Alice lifted her hair out of the way of her scar for a moment. "Satisfied?" she asked, and noticed them all stare for a bit. Alice couldn't quite manage to hold off on rolling her own eyes on that.

"So, it's true then," mused Lestrange out loud, her face carefully blank as she stared at the scar. The boys stared at her like she was a zoo exhibit, but Lestrange had much different things on her mind, Alice was sure. Alice started to feel annoyed and let her hair back down.

Alice waited a few minutes for more questions, as neither boy struck her as the sort to hold back their curiosity, but instead both Malfoy and Nott were now staring at Lestrange as though looking for her reaction. Interesting, so they must both know the truth about the heir to the Lestrange name. "Yes," Alice said to break up the silence. "I've only really known about it since I was seven. Didn't get how big a deal it was until arriving in Diagon Alley, either."

"Didn't know?" whispered Lestrange quietly. "How could you not know? You defeated the Dark Lord." Where any other group of children might have displayed this fact with awe and excitement, Lestrange's face grew only colder, while Nott and Malfoy frowned slightly and continued studying the famous stranger as though trying to figure out how she did it.

"Because the muggles were too busy trying to stamp out my magic to actually appreciate being saved by my mere survival." Despite her calm tone as she said it, Alice was surprised by a reawakened bitterness about the childhood of Alice Potter. Perhaps the idea that the only reason she was subjected to the muggles was some feeble attempt by Albus Dumbledore to engender positive feelings to the vermin had brought it back up. She hadn't meant to talk about them at all, and she found herself looking out the window to avoid looking the children who were at least physically the same age as her. She was rather embarrassed to admit there was a time those muggles were capable of bullying her.

She could still see their reactions in the reflection, looks of surprise. "They tried to what?" said Lestrange, her mask breaking into a disgusted face.

"Father always said muggles were rather uppity and needed to be put in their place, but I never imagined one would dare try to actually weaken their betters." Malfoy sure sounded like he lived without much clue about what muggles were actually like. Most purebloods, and even most halfbloods were that way.

"How did they try to stamp it out?" asked Goyle, stupidly.

Alice looked at the stupid boy with a remarkably cold impression that made him flinch. "Nothing successful, obviously," she replied evenly. Malfoy elbowed him, his expression stating plainly that the boy should shut up now.

"I take it back," said Lestrange after an uncomfortable silence settled for a moment too long.

"Take what back, Eris?" asked Nott.

"That she owes me something," she said. "I think having to deal with the muggles was bad enough. Though I think I am even more interested in you as an asset, Alice."

Alice grinned slightly as the train continued on. It was not the best impression to begin with, but she had knocked off some of Eris Lestrange's malice and kept her intrigue. That was a win in Alice's book, because she had wanted to attain the girl's loyalties. It was not just that the girl could grow to be influential later, or potentially inherit the skills of her parents and become quite a powerful tool. No, Alice wanted her for a very different reason, something entirely childish and silly, or so her inner Dark Lady thought.

The orphan with no close family thought, somewhere in the childish side of her brain, that she might really like having a pseudo-sister. Because despite the name she had been gifted with, Eris Lestrange and Alice Riddle shared a father in the Dark Lord Voldemort.


	12. Chapter 12 - The Dark Princess

_**NOTE:**_ _This is a bit of a perspective shift to explain Eris' origins. Not sure if there will be other perspective shifts in future. It's safe to assume Eris is going to become one of the main characters in this story now, and I decided to list her in the description as something of a version of Delphini. I've always liked the idea of a daughter of Voldemort, though Cursed Child's version did not explore the concept near enough to my liking._

 **Chapter 12**

 **The Dark Princess**

Things had been going so well for the Dark Lord in those days. At the height of his power, people couldn't speak his name for fear of him, and few had the courage to stand against him if he was personally involved in a raid. There was no prophecy to fear, and his opponents were on the decline. The Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix were putting up a fight, but he knew he would overcome them. After all, he had all the time in the world.

After all, the immortal Dark Lord had little to worry about. Dumbledore might be capable of standing against him for a while, but the man was not getting any younger, and death was a concern of lesser witches and wizards. The only note of concern the man formally known as Tom Riddle had was that he had never gotten to complete his collection.

He had meant to make a total of six Horcruxes, but had stopped at five before beginning his war for control. He could not hold back his dreams any longer, but he had always kept an eye out for that sixth Horcrux. He had always wanted to complete the set of founder objects and find something of Godric Gryffindors, but the only known object that remained of the man, the Sword, had not been seen in hundreds of years. Well, there was the Sorting Hat, and while that might have been interesting, he did not see himself getting to it for a number of years.

While the inability to complete the set was annoying, the years began to make Voldemort consider experimenting a little. Voldemort played with the idea of a living Horcrux, to serve as an agent as well as an anchor. The rituals that turned an object into a potential horcrux, waiting for a soul to fill it, could potential work on people. So the Dark Lord tried a couple preliminary trials.

A Horcrux was made in two stages, first the object had to be properly enchanted for durability and to properly hold the soul as it was supposed to. Second, the murder and ritual that breaks the soul piece and binds it to the object. The first stage on living creatures was quite successful. He had successfully made a snake immune to all but some of the truly deadliest substances known to wizarding kind. Of course, living beings were not quite as resistant to Killing Curses as objects similarly enchanted, but otherwise it was intriguing.

At first, the Dark Lord considered breeding the best snake possible, to bind a companion to him for eternity, but a strange idea occurred to him that might have been better than a snake. He began experimenting on humans, muggles and mudbloods mostly, and discovered similar results. It was then that Lord Voldemort first conceived of actually having an heir.

As he had always planned on becoming immortal, he had seen little reason to pass along his bloodline until then. But suddenly the idea of a living weapon crafted from his own heir was appealing. They could be the perfect enforcer of his will, and perhaps stave off the boredom that may develop later in eternity. The Dark Lord knew no friend but himself, and could actually enjoy his own company.

It was never really a question of who would mother his child, though it did take some maneuvering to make the Rodolphus happy about it. The Lestrange Brothers were almost as loyal as Bellatrix, but even they would need to be carefully manipulated into accepting this situation.

Both of the last males of the House of Lestrange were infertile, and Bellatrix would have killed her own parents for a chance to mother the Dark Lord's offspring. It didn't take long to convince Rodolphus that the Dark Lord would be rewarding him with an heir, with maybe some false hints that a Blood Adoption would complete the process. The end result was a rather happy Bellatrix.

A few months later, Eris Bellatrix Lestrange was born on October 31st, 1979. Despite a lack of Lestrange blood, the name was legal and the Houses rules were changed to allow Eris as heir to inherit. The girl would not suffer the curse of a muggle name. Despite being publicly acknowledged, almost no one but the girl's immediate family ever saw her, because she had been born with her father's corrupted eyes.

There was an odd pride in the Dark Lord as he saw a bit of himself in the girl as she grew up. He couldn't say he loved her, but he could say she belonged to him, and that was close enough for a man like Lord Voldemort. She was going to be carefully raised, brought up to be as loyal as her mother. The original plan had been to turn her into a horcrux on her seventh birthday.

Then the prophecy happened. History will recall that Lord Voldemort's attacks became much more aggressive, and quite a few pregnant woman were killed, but by July, two potential chosen ones had been born with a potential to overcome him in future. When it came to his intended Horcrux, Lord Voldemort decided against patience and began to quicken his building of the girl.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Eris, like most children, did not have many memories of her time as a baby, but she did remember quite a lot about her first birthday. Her father had decided to spoil her for her birthday, and give her a lot of gifts, though only one such gift was truly tangible and appreciated.

After many rituals, some of which did not feel so good, one of those rituals gave her the first friend she ever had. His name was Nathair, and at the time he was a baby black cobra that was magically tied to her. She remembered that he was meant to guard and protect her. He wasn't a normal cobra, he was special, and Daddy made him just for her. Despite some discomfort, Eris would insist to this day it was her best birthday, because Dad spent the whole day with her and gave her a friend.

She also recalled her second birthday quite vividly, but that birthday had been a very bad day in hindsight. Like before, her father spent a lot of time with her, and she remembered him saying he was going to finish something very important with her, but first he had to do something in order to finish her present.

She remembered feeling empty and anxious, excited for whatever present he gave her. But then he didn't come home. Mommy had been quite upset, and left her with Aunt Cissy while she went to look for Daddy.

It took a while before Eris came to accept that her father was dead and her mother was never coming home.

While this was upsetting when she was younger, Eris grew to accept this truth and learned to move on, though she never quite got over the empty feeling she felt that day when her father failed to give her the mysterious and by now long lost birthday present he had been preparing. As she learned more, she often wondered what the Potter murders had to do with said present, though later she simply imagined he had more business than just her birthday planned. A simple clean-up detour had deprived her of her parents.

Eris might have been basically orphaned, but her aunt and uncle doted on her almost as much as they doted on their own son. She grew up in a wealthy and loving home, and was taught all she needed to know about being a pureblood Heiress. Of course, she also always knew she was special.

When she was old enough, she was given special lenses that fit over her eyes that could hide their color, though she never really liked wearing them. She liked her red, snake-like eyes, but she understood the need to hide who her father was. She also understood the need to hide her loyalty to the dead man and her hatred that flared every time anyone ever so much as mentioned the name Alice Potter.

She was taught to control those emotions, to mask her true self and be the best young pureblood princess she could be. But there were a few people she could be open with. She grew close to her cousin Draco, of course, and over time, other Death Eaters and their children were let in on her secret. The Dark Lord may be dead, but his bloodline still lived on. It may take time to recover, but Eris was raised to believe her generation might be the one to put the world back on the path that her father wanted.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Her birthday usually brought on mixed emotions, but today Eris could say she was more happy then solemn, as for her eleventh birthday, she was finally getting her wand. Aunt Cissy took her out to Ollivander's, and even her pureblood mask could not fully contain her excitement.

Ollivander was a rather odd and offputting man. "Ah, Miss Lestrange, you look much like your mother," he noted, though it didn't sound like a compliment with his rather haunted expression. Eris was used to people speaking of her mother unkindly, but she still didn't like it. "Twelve and three quarter inches, Walnut and dragon heartstring. Unyielding. A good wand for a highly skilled, even brilliant witch." Least the compliment made up for it a little, most people didn't compliment her mother except her family, and even then only sometimes.

"But of course, you would be here for your own wand, yes?" he said, and he began his usual measuring and picking a few wands that he felt might suit her and presenting them. She had gone through several different wands, but already she could feel them all denying her. She was more sensitive to magic then most children, and she could tell that none of the wands liked being held by her. She was beginning to frown, disappointed that none were willing to be hers when she heard something.

"~Come to me,~" whispered the voice. She paused and listened close, and it repeated itself. She turned her head and tilted it in curiosity. What was a snake doing in the shop? She had practiced her gift of Parseltongue enough to know the different between the language of snakes and English, though it had taken many conversations with Nathair to hear it in just a couple sentences.

Ollivander studied her carefully. "Is one of them calling to you?" he asked, a fascinated expression on his face.

"Something is," she replied distantly.

"Then I think you should look for it," he encouraged, and Eris found herself wandering down the shop, passing the many wands on the shelves, and going further and further back. Ollivander had many, many wands, and she wondered to herself what happened if one didn't find a partner for a while. She couldn't hear Ollivander following her, but she could see his shadow. She followed the voice slowly.

"Ah, not one of mine, then," mused the wand maker, and she turned to him curiously. "Not all the wands in the store were made by me. My family truly has been making wands for millennia, that is no false advertising. A wand made by one of my ancestors is calling to you, and a good thing too. It might have taken a while for me to get to it the usual way."

Eris nodded and continued along, finding herself all the way in the back of the store, and finally she pointed up to a shelf. "It's coming from…" A box suddenly slid a little off the shelf, as though it was eager to get to her. "… There." She looked surprised and a little curious. What wand was this that was so eager to join her when all it's fellows were afraid? Perhaps Ollivander was not just being odd when he claimed that the wand chooses the witch or wizard.

"Hmm, let's see," said Ollivander, pulling it down and checking a label. "Ah, this a very old wand, made long before my family settled on the three usual wand cores. Interesting.." He opened the box and presented her with the wand.

Eris took it and felt a surge of something both dangerous and powerful, yet it felt like an extension of herself. She smiled as a trail of green smoke came out of the end and took the form of a snake, hissing it's joy at finally finding it's witch. "This one's mine," she said with a bright smile.

"Yes, quite the unusual wand," he said, his eyes boring into hers. She was distracted from her happy moment by the look in his eyes. "I believe it is near a thousand years old. Thirteen inches, very bendy, and materials I wouldn't make wands with today, for both the rarity and the unpredictability. Whomping Willow Wood and Basilisk Horn. I dare say you will make a fearsome witch one day."

Eris looked in his eyes, and did not like what she found. There was fear there, as though part of him wanted to snap her wand and deny her ever having one. She frowned. "Both are fearsome things, but also wondrous protectors and guardians." It was true, both the Whomping Willow and the Basilisk were used as guardians of treasure in the past, and while Eris had no desire to be protective really, she didn't like when people marked her as evil at birth.

Ollivander nodded wearily, but eventually did sell the wand, all the while staring at her like she was as dangerous as those that provided the material for her wand.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The train ride became a little dull after a while, as Draco took over explaining things about the wizarding world. Alice Potter had not turned out to be quite what Eris had thought she would be. She would have never guessed the Girl-Who-Lived would have wanted to be in Slytherin, nor actually seem quite suited to the house despite her disadvantages.

In truth, she had expected a muggle loving hero who would take one look and mark Eris as an enemy to all that was good and righteous. In fact, Eris was actually hoping for something like that, just to justify her years of loathing the girl. But Alice Potter was nothing like that. She was bitter about how she was raised, that was for sure, and didn't seem to be a puppet of Dumbledore in the slightest.

The girl had also done some research, and knew the family names, which meant that she probably had an idea of who their parents were and what they did during the war. That should have either scared her off or antagonized her, but instead the girl seemed intrigued by the possibility of allying herself to them.

Was the Girl-Who-Lived a Death Eater Sympathizer? What a strange reverse of Eris' expectations (and most everyone else's, for that matter) that would be if it were true. Still, if the girl was going to Slytherin, that meant this could be a cunning ploy to lower their guard and strike back at them later for the perceived sins of their parents. Eris wasn't going to drop her guard too quickly.

There was a knock on the compartment door that slid Eris out of her thoughts before the door slid open again. A bushy haired girl was there, and behind her a slightly pudgy and apparently shy boy was standing. It only took a couple seconds to recognize the rather weak willed Longbottom heir, but the girl's identity completely escaped her. There weren't any purebloods their age she didn't know about, so she had to assume she was of lesser blood status.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." The Longbottom heir began to tremble as he recognized some of the people in the room, though there was a small flash of a far braver boy when he glanced in Eris' direction.

"A toad, Longbottom?" said Draco. Draco was far too quick to go after easy targets sometimes. "I think if my parents had given me one of those, I'd have lost it on purpose." The boys all laughed.

"Neville Longbottom?" said Alice Potter, looking at the boy, with a calculating look, as though sizing the boy up. Then she rose to her feet, and a dazzling friendly smile came to her face, laced with charm. "Sorry, haven't seen it. Though I was hoping to meet you. I could help, if you like."

"Longbottom probably needs all the help he can get," said Theodore, though he stopped chuckling when Alice gave him a very chilly glare. Even Uncle Lucius might have flinched at that warning glare.

"Y-you wanted to meet m-me?" said Longbottom, nervous and suspicious at the same time.

Alice nodded, her friendly face back on. "Yes, well, you see, I was named after your mum," she informed him. "I think our parents were pretty close once." She raised her hand, offering it to him. "Alice Potter."

Longbottom looked utterly shocked, and before he could say a word, his bushy haired companion was talking, and rather fast. "Are you really? I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books, for background read, when I went to Diagon Alley for the first time, and you're in Modern Magical History and the Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Oh, it's a mudblood," groaned Draco with a look on his face as though something smelled like rotten eggs.

Alice turned towards her cousin, and though Eris couldn't see the look, she could see Draco flinching and staring in shock, and a second later both Vincent and Greggory shared his horror on their faces. "I feel I should warn you now that I don't like that word, Mister Malfoy, and I would be pleased if you kept me from hearing it from now on, please." There was an icy chill in her voice that was rather intimidating, and made the request sound more like an order.

Alice quickly shifted back to pleasant again when she looked up. "Apologies for my companions, I suppose boys can't help but be rude sometimes. I've read a couple of those books myself, though I can tell you they say very little about me as a person, Miss…"

"Oh, Hermione Granger," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Granger," replied Alice pleasantly. "First generation witch, I take it?"

"Yes. Nobody in my family's magical at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard, I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough."

The girl was going at a rapid pace, and Eris had no idea how she got a breath in between all those words. She was a rather annoying mudblood, for sure, but Alice Potter didn't show a moment of irritation. Instead, she looked rather intrigued.

"By heart? All of them?" she said. "Quite impressive, Miss Granger." Eris thought on that for a moment, and realized that if she got the list of books at the same time as everyone else, then she had read through them quite quickly. She imagined it must be an empty boast to sound more impressive. The girl acted like she knew everything to seem more impressive, she couldn't possibly have read all those books and memorized them, on top of the extra reading she had claimed to have. "I take it you've going to be aiming for Ravenclaw house?"

"Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, though I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it. Do all of you know what house you'll be in?" Eris suppressed a groan at the lioness in the making. Gryffindors, honestly, so annoying.

"Everyone in here is aiming for Slytherin," said Alice casually, pausing as Longbottom seemed to choke at that answer. "My parents were in Gryffindor, but I think I'm a bit too ambitious to end up there myself."

"That house has a somewhat bad reputation, but I think that's just from recent history, since You-Know-Who went there, and snakes have a bad reputation as a symbol too."

"I like snakes, and I think it would just take little bit of work to reverse that reputation a little," mused Alice. "Besides, it was Merlin's house long before Lord Voldemort became the second most famous man to come out of it."

The mudblood's eyes lit up at this bit of information, as she apparently hadn't read a biography on Merlin yet, while everyone else had predictable reactions to a certain name that normally didn't get said. Even Eris didn't say her father's name so easily, and flinched. Longbottom actually fell over from the name. Eris only barely caught a glimpse of Alice Potter's amused smirk that quickly hide behind her friendly smile again.

"Oh, before you go on, I believe we've distracted ourselves from the main point, the missing toad," she said, helping Longbottom get back on his feet. "I'll be back," she told them all before she lead Granger and Longbottom down the train for the search, presumably continuing the conversation.

Alice Potter continued to be an enigma. The girl didn't like muggles, but seemed perfectly amicable to rather annoying mudbloods and weak willed near-squibs. In fact, she seemed quite vehement in her defense of mudbloods, but maybe that was just because she had a mudblood mother.

As Eris thought on this strange girl, she noticed a certain feeling she hadn't paid much attention to in a long time. The emptiness. It was odd to notice, because she realized that she hadn't been feeling it while she was in the same compartment as Alice Potter. Strange.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Sorting

**Chapter 13**

 **The Sorting**

Alice was a little disappointed to see what the Longbottom heir had grown into so far. He could probably be molded into something useful over time, but it would take a lot of time. There wasn't much chance of him ending up in Slytherin, so Alice didn't think she'd be able to devote that time. Still, she could at least leave the boy with a good impression after helping him in finding his toad, and good press would be needed in other houses later.

Granger was a different beast though. Alice had long decided to never indulge the pureblood ideals in regards to muggleborns, and Granger was definitely going to be a special witch no matter her blood status. It only took a little legilimency to understand that it was no empty boast that the girl had read all the books and really had memorized them. The girl's mind was so well organized that she made an easy read without any defenses.

She was smart, and dedicated to learning everything she could about the magical world now that she was a part of it. She also was rather lonely from the muggle world, and Alice knew she could easily use that desperation for acceptance from people her own age. Of course, the girl wasn't perfect. Her efforts to impress and teach easily came off as annoying and bossy, though Alice understood the girl was mostly just trying to be nice and seem useful to get to know. Others would probably take her tone as arrogant and full of herself if they couldn't catch a glimpse of her true feelings.

The girl also had a bit too much faith in authority figures and her beloved books, because none of them had ever let her down or abandoned her like other kids had. If Alice was going to keep up with her, she would have to push that faith into a more healthy skepticism at some point, or redirect some of that faith more towards a rising Dark Lady in the making. She would probably be worth pursuing as a potential minion in future.

Friend? Alice wasn't sure right now, but there was potential for that, though like Longbottom, Granger was unlikely to follow her to the House of Snakes. Oh, she had some ambition and cunning, but there was more of a fight between her strong desire for knowledge and her fierce sense of right and wrong. It would likely be between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, though perhaps if the hat mentioned Slytherin the girl wouldn't be quite as adverse after hearing Alice's thoughts on the house.

Though keeping a muggleborn safe in the Snake Pit would be a lot of extra work.

Eventually, Alice returned to the compartment with the Death Eater offspring, and found them awfully quiet when she came in. Alice sat down as they seemed to consider her, but not wish to speak their minds. It seemed they had decided to be cautious with her now. She decided to find out what they had spoken of while she was away.

She thought there was a chance that Nott, Malfoy and Eris Lestrange might know enough occlumency to detect intrusion, so she picked a safer target in Crabbe. As far as she could tell from the dim mind's second hand rememberence, Eris Lestrange and Theodore Nott were curious about the rather different Girl-Who-Lived then what they expected, while Malfoy was much more cautious.

 _"Her eyes flashed red when she glared at me!"_ he had said after she had left, and Alice mentally admonished herself for slipping. She had really been peeved at that damn 'M' word, but she shouldn't have lost control. She did not need anyone drawing connections to her and the Dark Lord beyond his physical death. Crabbe didn't seem to think much about this oddity, but the boy was stupid, and she rather wished she could get a glimpse of what the others thought about it. They weren't telling her, that was for sure.

The uncomfortable silence finally ended when the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station as the train became active with students hurrying off to get to school. The future Slytherins moved together towards a voice calling for First Years like them.

Alice vaguely recalled that Rubeus Hagrid had gotten a job at the school after his expulsion, and had been active during the war at times, but her own visual image of the man as she remembered him had been as an overly large boy with an unhealthy fascination for dangerous animals that had been easily used as a scapegoat. When the man that boy grew into gave her a warm smile behind that scraggly beard, Alice felt a sting of guilt.

He had just that sort of look that made her feel that was, when people looked at her like a hero returned, though perhaps with a side of familiarity due to her parents. The man's mind was utterly too open, and visions of her family played before her. He was comparing him to her parents, seeing the similarities and how different she looked from the baby that could barely fit in his overlarge hands. She smiled back at him but hurried towards the boats to avoid any potential for conversation.

Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott got into a boat together, while it seemed Lestrange had decided to stick close to her. Granger and Longbottom followed them into their boat, if only because Alice was the only friendly face they'd met so far. The boats went on the Half-Giant's word and they went towards Hogwarts. The view was as good as she remembered from Tom's time here. It was a shame having memories would dim the experience as something new and exciting.

Apart from Longbottom losing sight of his toad before the boats and finding him afterwards, the trip over the lake was peaceful and uneventful. At the entrance hall, they were given off by Hagrid to Minerva McGonagall, the cat animagus. She the Dark Lord only really remembered bits about, but never met her personally as far as his memories recalled. She struck Alice as a sterner sort of teacher then Dumbledore had been.

Alice remained calm as she waited, listening to the whisperings of other children, and the surprise visits by the ghosts. It sounded like they were thinking of getting rid of Peeves again, though Alice wondered why they would even bother. All it would do was open up the possibility of a new Poltergeist forming in the castle again, one potentially even worse than the current spirit of childish rebellion. At least Peeves could be controlled by the Bloody Baron on occasions where he got to be a little too much, as could the Grey Lady though she advertised that ability less.

There were plenty of ridiculous stories going around about how kids were sorted, and Alice snorted as even a rather clever girl like Granger seemed to be under the impression there was some sort of test. "It's based on personality, not skill, remember?" she whispered to the muggleborn, who nodded but still seemed nervous.

The great hall still looked beautiful, if rather emptier then it had been in Tom Riddle's day. The war really had done a number on the current generation of Witches and Wizards. It likely looked like a lot of children to the rest, but Alice had a different past to compare it to. The hat was brought out and sang its song, and as had long been rumored, it was no repeat of even Tom Riddle's days at Hogwarts. The Founder's had truly made a wonder in that hat alone considering it's creativity.

When the Sorting Ceremony truly began, Alice paid attention to each face that went off to be sorted. It would do her well to keep in mind everyone in her year and younger, as they would be the easiest to influence. Older years tended to pay little mind to younger, and though Alice had the advantage of being such a famous curiosity, it would take more work for older children to see her as a leader.

Crabbe, Goyle, Lestrange, Malfoy and Nott all, predictably, went to Slytherin, as they had planned. Granger and Longbottom both went to Gryffindor. Hermione's had taken a while, so Alice felt she had debated with the hat for a while, as had Longbottom's, and he seemed rather surprised to be going to the house of the brave. It seemed there was more than the surface to the boy, but she'd had to wait and see if anything interesting would have come from continuing to associate with him.

When "Potter, Alice" was called, Alice began to walk, and could hear the whispers all around her. She cast her gaze around the room as she walked, the slightest nervous smile playing on her face. Curiocity and wonder played out on almost every face she saw. Along the staff table, she noted that Severus Snape was keeping his face carefully blank but was staring at her intently. She knew the only teacher who would be the same as Tom's time would be Professor Binns, the ghost. Alice was very carefully to keep her eyes off Dumbledore's own, not wanting to test her occlumency against him. It would be best if he didn't know she had that capability for as long as she could manage.

Alice sat down, facing the students who stared at her like she was an exhibit in a zoo. Then the hat obscured her vision as it was placed on her head.

'I do so hope you have maintained your stance on keeping the thoughts of new students a secret,' she thought to the hat, lowering her mental defenses and trusting the ancient magic of the Founders.

She could feel the hats surprise, and it took a moment to speak. 'I do, Miss Riddle,' spoke the Hat. 'Though I must say your head is full of surprises. I can honestly tell you that I have never felt a mind so alien and familiar at once, though I have met a few of split mentalities before.'

'Interesting,' she mentally mused. 'Wish you could tell me about them, but I know you cannot. So perhaps we should get on with why we're here.'

'Yes,' replied the hat, it's tone becoming thoughtful. 'Your ambitions are overwhelming, though I think you may be more brave then cunning despite your own thoughts on the matter. You have a strange sort of loyalty to you, though your dominating nature will interfere with that. Though Gryffindor and Hufflepuff might temper you towards safer alternative paths, I think the only house for you will be…'

"SLYTHERIN!"

As Alice went to the table of her fellow snakes, she found herself thinking about the sorting. It had not taken too long, and her eventual placement was not surprising, but the hat had pointed to a bit of her personality she had not considered about herself. Bravery and loyalty, hmm? If her ambitions were not so deep to her character, she might have found herself a badger or a lion. She recalled Tom having been given a choice between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and at the time his interest in snakes was really the deciding factor. Alice allowed herself to play the game of what ifs for a moment before her mind came back to reality.

She noticed the great hall had gotten quiet for a few seconds. There was a bit of disappointment for the Lions who had hoped to claim her for their pride, and more than a few people now looking at her in suspicion. Most of Slytherin had been equally surprised, outside of the group she had sat with on the train, but they quickly recovered and cheered for her in the manner that was expected. She noticed plenty of the students looking at her with calculating glances, and a few Death Eater Sympathizers did not look happy.

"Welcome to the Snake Pit," declared her fellow heir of Slytherin as Alice found herself sitting beside her. Eris Lestrange seemed amused by the reactions of her fellow students as her gaze went around the room. "I don't think many thought you would end up here."

"Apparently not," Alice mused in reply, her gaze moving back to the staff table. Severus continued to hold a carefully blank mask, though when he spotted her looking up he gave a subtle nod of acknowledgement before turning away, speaking to some teacher she didn't know that wore a turbin. "Any chance you can give me a rundown of the staff? The only one I know much about is Dumbledore." That wasn't really true, but she thought it best to act the clueless muggle raised at the moment.

Eris began to point out each teacher, having apparently been briefed on each one before coming. "Well, that's Professor Snape, he's a friend of my family," she informed her. Ah, so Severus was keeping close ties to the Malfoys, it seemed. "He's our Head of House and Potions Professor, so best to keep respectful to him at all times." That would be hard advice to follow considering Alice knew what the man's involvement in her parent's murders.

"Quirrel there is the current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I wouldn't expect him to last long, there hasn't been one that lasted longer than a year at the job for decades." Ah, the curse was still going strong. It was a good thing Alice had plenty of knowledge in that field, then, since the subject was likely much poorer quality then it had been in Tom's day by now. "He used to be the Muggle Studies Professor, but went off to gain experience for his current position." The turban wearing man looked rather fearful, and Alice wondered what he had discovered that gave him such a nervous disposition. Alice also noted he was quite young, and couldn't be much older then twenty. Must be desperate times to put someone so young in the position.

"Our Deputy Headmistress you've met now, she's also the Head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration Professor. I hear she's a fairly strict and no-nonsense sort of teacher. The ghost is Professor Binns, I hear he's dull." Not changed much, then, though Alice had a plan to spare her fellow Slytherins some of the boredom in that class. "The small one there is Professor Flitwick, part goblin, Head of Ravenclaw and Professor of Charms." And an internationally recognized duelist champion, if Alice remembered correctly. The man looked carefree enough, but that was a man who would be a harsh enemy to make.

"Professor Sprout is the Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology Professor," she continued. "Charity Burbage is the current Muggle Studies Professor, so we won't be wasting much time with her." Yes, that was a subject Alice would not be taking. If she wanted to learn about Muggles she could just look around during the summer. "The big man from the boats is Hagrid, a servant who lives on the grounds." Alice avoided rolling her eyes at the note of disdain for those in lesser positions. The girl had certainly been raised in pureblood high society.

"He's talking to Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor," she noted, and Alice saw a man with more than one obvious prosthetic limbs. He must not be very careful with his subject, then. "Hooch teaches flying, but she's mostly just a Quidditch Referee." Oh, there was a familiar face, though she was much older than she had been in Tom's time. The woman had been in her forties back then, and now was about ninety, though she seemed to have kept in shape for her age.

"Sinistra teaches Astronomy, Babbling teaches Ancient Runes and Vector teaches Arithmancy. I don't know much about them. That's Filch, the caretaker, horrid reputation. I think he's mostly in this job to punish students with manual labor as a way to get back at us, the squib." The man certainly lacked positivity, and seemed to be scowling at all the students as though every single face were not worth the trouble they put him through. That couldn't make him popular. "Pince is the Librarian, and I hear she likes books much more then she does people. I think there are two people not here at the moment, and that would be the Divinations Professor Trelawney and the school nurse, Pomfrey."

With a basic description of the staff given, Alice took her attention off of the staff and towards her fellow first year Slytherins. Millicent Bulstrode was big for a girl, with a look that was rather intimidating by the standards of eleven year olds and a hard. She seemed to be trying to get in the good graces of a stronger personality, and thus was in the process of attempting to befriend Pansy Parkinson.

Parkinson was a rich girl, used to getting anything she wanted and willing to get nasty to climb to the top of the popularity poll of Slytherin. The girl thought she might end up a leader among them, but Alice felt it more likely either she or Lestrange would end up smacking her down when things got vicious. Greengrass and Davies seemed to know eachother already, and were sticking together, solidifying their alliance while carefully studying the future prospects.

Runcorn, Moon and Zabini seemed to be sticking to themselves as loners at the moment, carefully listening to the light conversation as food was served. Everyone was judging eachother, considering their alliances. Lestrange and Malfoy were quick to take the attention and start asserting themselves as the best options for leaders in their year.

Alice could play at this game early, or let herself go with the flow and solidify her own position later. For now, she chatted with Eris lightly and made a light show of alliance towards the Lestrange Heiress. Her pseudo-sister was the only one Alice knew she wanted to get a decent relationship with out of the lot of them, and she would judge the others over the coming days.


	14. Chapter 14 - Tedium of Classes

**Chapter 14**

 **Tedium of Classes**

It started with a little girl with green eyes. She was alone in a black void, and then a white snake with red eyes slithered out of her forehead and coiled around her body tightly. The snake bit her, but she bit it back, and both seemed to be happy with arrangement and stayed together. The girl kept walking until she came upon a locket.

She put the locket around her neck and opened it, and out slithered a second serpent. This serpent was black instead of white, but it shared the same eyes as it's fellow. Before it could fight, the girl bopped it on the head and made it stay with her, and the girl was now covered in two snakes.

The girl looked ahead on the path and saw that there were more snakes waiting to be gathered, but they tried to hide from her. Despite their hiding, she knew where they were, and it would be no trouble to hunt them. There was a crown, a ring, a cup and book, all hiding her snakes. But there was another snake she did not expect, hiding in the back of a skull. As she drew closer to the snakes, they hissed. Just as she wanted to collect the snakes, the snakes wanted to collect her instead.

Alice awoke from her strange dream feeling as though her dream were important somehow, but as she tried to remember the details they slipped away again. It was frustrating to awaken with that feeling of something important being just out of reach, but it would not take long for the tedium of her schooling to make her forget she had even dreamed at all.

Alice would not have some of the difficulties her fellow students had when traversing the castle. She knew most of the tricks of the place, and knew where everything was, including a few secret rooms no one else would discover in their lifetime. Few knew the castle like Tom, and Alice would benefit greatly from that memory. The castle was meant to be confusing, of course, since it was meant to defend from outsiders in case the castle was ever infiltrated.

Alice had known that going to Hogwarts when she had the memories of a boy who had passed his NEWTs with flying colors would likely be dull when it came to the classes themselves. There was only so much she could distract herself with the differences between the current staff and the one from Tom's days, and in the end that didn't really keep her from being vastly overqualified to turn a matchstick into a needle on her first try. She felt rather like Tom had cheated her out of the wonder and excitement of learning magic like it was all new.

But at least she could use his previous knowledge to benefit her fellow first year Slytherins when it came to certain things. For example, before History of Magic, Alice tracked down and had a bit of a conversation with the ghost that taught it.

Professor Binns was a horribly detached individual, as most ghosts were, and had not been a great speaker towards the end of his life. In death, his lectures were utterly dull. But a young Tom had learned that it was possible to break through the detachment of ghosts and get them to act a bit more lively with just a bit of personal interest.

It was a wonder what a little invested charm and interest could do for a ghost who usually never paid much attention to the living anymore. Usually, Professor Binns was well known to simply deliver a monotone lecture to the class, and with his detached nature, he often seemed to slip into any of a number of lectures that at this point he knew from memory, often delivering the wrong lecture to the wrong years. Some classes had only ever even seemed to hear the same exact set of lectures on goblin rebellions year after year, but so few paid enough attention to notice after their first year.

But instead what the first year Slytherins were treated to was a slightly more lively Professor, by the standards of ghosts. He smiled at the nice young Miss Potter who had shown so much interest in the subject, and actually started off with the correct introduction that few first year classes ever actually heard.

"History of Magic," he began, his voice more enthusiastic then anyone had heard in nearly fifty years, though the ghost still had a dull tone even when he was trying his best. "An ongoing story of where the Wizarding World came from. Unlike most stories, however, there is no current well defined idea of where and when magic began. As long as mankind has existed, so too have a special few of them had magic, though there is some evidence that magic existed before us and will likely continue to exist without us.

"However, for European Witchcraft and Wizardry, we can trace back the brunt of our current magical understanding to two civilizations. Can anyone name them?"

The Slytherin class looked stunned for a moment, no doubt hearing that this class did not have much interaction with it. Alice, however, had expected this, and knew that to keep the class on point she would have to keep Binns engaged. So, she raised her hand and answered. "Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece."

"Correct, Miss Potter," he said, getting a student's name right for the first time in nearly half a century. "Five points to…" He seemed to hesitate as he stared at the color of her robes. So he still had lapses in memory, it was still an improvement. "Slytherin. Yes, while there have been many cultures that had their own magical traditions, these two civilizations codified much of what would become the European standard of magical understanding, from the use of staves or rods as foci, standards of magical apprecticeships, warding, ritual magics, the breeding of magical creatures, and more. Throughout the year we will be going over many individuals of these civilizations that helped our world become what it is today.

"In these ancient times, most magicals lived either solitary lives, in family groups, or became cultural leaders of their people. The first attempts to unify magical peoples together came from the Roman Empire as they conquered most of Europe. This helped spread a more unified idea of Witchcraft and Wizardry, though Roman persecution of magical peoples would eventually see most magicals becoming reserved and secretive around their muggle neighbors.

"While several individual magicals were very powerful and knowledgeable, Witches and Wizards as a whole lacked organization outside a few scattered groups and covens. With a rising divide between magical and muggle, several Witches and Wizards sought to unify with their fellows. One great step in this process was with the building of schools, the greatest of which is often thought to be the very one we reside in today, Hogwarts.

"With the advent of these institutions as both safe havens and places of learning, several young minds were honed into impressive Witches and Wizards, including one Merlin, who along with attempting to build closer ties to muggles also founded the first far reaching Wizarding government, known then as the White Council, whose influence at its height went from the British Isles to France.

"Eventually, the White Council would become the Wizzengamot, and keep its influence here. But that is a lesson for a different day. As I said, this year we will focus on Ancient Egyptian and Greek Witches and Wizards. Any favorites anyone would like to start with?"

"I always thought Herpo the Foul was a fascinating individual," said Alice. She bet Tom wished he had discovered how to make Binns a better teacher earlier, because now Alice thought there might be one class where she could potentially learn something that Tom didn't.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"After all the stories I've heard, that class was not nearly as bad as I expected," said Eris Lestrange to the girl she was not quite befriending just yet. "What exactly did you do to get him to not just yammer on about Goblin Wars like he's known to do?"

"Engaged him in conversation and implied I was looking forward to his class," said Alice simply. "I simply figured if I could get him to at least remember my name then maybe he would keep in mind what lesson I was supposed to be on. I don't think a lot of other students try to get the ghosts to acknowledge them very often. It seems to work wonders."

"Well, don't be too pleased with yourself," warned Eris. "I think a couple of students were looking forward to being able to get away with napping in class. They aren't as likely to get away with it with a more engaged ghostly professor."

"Too bad for them," said Alice, waving the issue away without a care. "I'm here to learn and we're too old to need a nap time anyways. Besides, no one should be sleeping through a lecture about Herpo the Foul."

"Any particular reason he's your favorite?" asked Eris. She had to admit, she had some fascination with the first known historical Parselmouth and original breeder of basilisks now, but then Eris was a Parselmouth herself. She would have imagined Potter would be repulsed by the idea of Parselmouths, since the last well known one had been the Dark Lord who killed her parents.

"Oh, many reasons," she said. "He's one of the first wizards we ever categorized as specifically Dark, invented several curses, but most of all… I've never read how he died." Alice smirked slightly as though she knew something that most books didn't talk about.

Eris paused at that thoughtfully. "I suppose Binns didn't mention him dying either. I assume some heroic figure defeated him in some great duel. Isn't that how most of these things are said to happen?"

"Well, yes," said Alice. "Except with Herpo, there are three different records of his death that are several years apart from each other. And even some claims that the man was immortal and legend has it he could still be alive today." Eris looked sharply at her not-quite-yet-friend at this pronouncement before the girl giggled. "But that's just a myth."

"You seem to know a lot about such myths and legends for someone so fresh to our world." Eris found a lot of things odd about the Girl Who Lived that bucked her preconceived notions of her.

"I like to learn," replied the Potter girl casually.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice often had to hide her boredom in her classes as they continued. She could honestly say that most of the teachers were doing just fine in their subjects, but Alice was mentally too far ahead to care. The worst was by far Defense Against the Dark Arts. The curse had done too fine a job and lowering the standards of the class, and the stuttering twit could barely be understood as he went through his lessons. His own subject terrified him.

She found herself often zoning out while staring at the man's turban, a strange longing to take it off and see what he kept hidden under there. More than once she found herself fantasizing about gnawing at the back of his head, and she didn't rightly understand where that thought even came from.

Alice thought Severus was not quite so good a teacher as Horace Slughorn had been. The man was a strict disciplinarian to the Gryffindors who shared the class period, and perhaps even a bit of a bully to them. Poor Longbottom was a nervous wreck within the first ten minutes of the class, and while the man said nothing bad about Granger's work, he said nothing good either, while he had plenty of praise to deal to his own Slytherins, including on occasion Alice herself.

Alice had not been sure before school started whether Severus Snape would resent her as a spawn of James Potter or treat her well in memory of his lost love Lily Evans, but it seemed the former Death Eater was leaning more towards the latter. It took a great deal of willpower to not lash out at the man sometimes when he was near, but Alice was able to hold her tongue and appear as happy with the favoritism as the rest of her classmates.

After all, there was no possible way Alice Potter could know anything about the Prophecy, nor who told Voldemort about it and marked her parents for death. Or rather, one parent in particular. Severus could act repentant to the younger Potter if he wanted, but Alice Riddle would not be so quick to forgive.

One surprise in her first week at the castle was an invitation brought in by her beautiful owl, Circe, to a cup of tea with Rubeus Hagrid. The invitation said that he had been a friend of her parents, and had been looking forward to meeting her. Alice debated on accepting or not, but in the end thought she had little better to do with her time, despite the feelings of guilt she had for Tom's actions against the half-giant man.

On Friday afternoon, shortly after Potions, Alice went off alone towards the hut near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She knocked on the door and was greeted by the barking of a large dog that had her unpleasantly remembering Ripper from times before she took on the name Riddle. "Back, Fang!" cried the giant. A few moments later and he opened the door and looked down at her, his face surprisingly warm and friendly. It would be so easy for the man to look intimidating at over ten feet tall and lots of muscle, but his facial expressions were quick to show he was as far from hostile as it was possible to be.

"Ya look a lot like yer mum, but you got yer dad's wild hair, eh? Maybe some of your grandma in ya too, now that I get a good look at ya. Come on in, make yerself at home. Tea's almost ready."

She slowly made her way in and sat in a chair as the dog, Fang, came up beside her. She let him sniff her hand, and he seemed rather friendlier then Ripper so she patted his head a couple times. "So, you knew my parents, Mr. Hagrid?"

"Ya can just call me Hagrid, mos' people do," replied the giant as he began. "But ya, I knew 'em. Good a witch and wizard as I ever knew."

"I'm afraid I don't know much about them," admitted Alice. "Aunt Petunia wasn't really close to my mum near the end, so I mostly just know a little of what she was like as a child and what she did for… for me." She rubbed her scar self-consciously. In truth, Aunt Petunia avoided saying anything about her mother, but that was what Legilimency was for.

What followed was nearly two hours of stories about her mother and father during their school days, and with good eye contact she also found herself in the giant man's memories, getting images to go with the tales of the trouble maker James Potter who eventually learned how to be more responsible, and the spirited Lily Evans who had friends in every house and was always so clever. Alice enjoyed every moment of it, and her rather guarded heart allowed a bit of room for the half-giant to find a place in it.

After that, she spent another hour getting to know him better. While Tom's memories were not wrong for thinking him an easily manipulated man with a strange fascination with dangerous monsters, Alice found she had more respect for the simple minded and seemingly fearless ex-Gryffindor. Especially when the discussion went from his desire to own such dangerous creatures as dragons, to similar dangerous creatures he already had a hand in raising.

"And they just let you come and go?" she asked, never hearing of Acromantulas being quite so kind.

"Well, I raised their da', so they know me. Any friend of mine'll be fine with them."

Alice wasn't quite prepared to test that theory but she nodded anyways. "I've never heard of anyone being friendly with Acromantulas before. Any other pets you have running around in the forest?"

"I look after the school Thestrals, o' course, and I have a few Hippogriffs. Fluffy was out there until I had to send him into the school," said Hagrid.

Alice was not quite sure she liked the idea of sharing the castle with a monster besides the old family pet. "What kind of animal is Fluffy?"

"Oh, he's a great big, beautiful Cerberus I got off a Greek chappie," said Hagrid fondly, missing Alice flinching. "He's plenty friendly, especially the right-most head of 'im, though he takes his guarding job seriously."

"What's he guarding?" she asked. She hadn't given much thought to the strange warning Dumbledore had given the school about the third-floor corridor until now. Now that she knew that the man had allowed a Cerberus into the school, and apparently to guard something, her curiosity peaked.

"Oh, uh," stammered the Gamekeeper as he realized he was talking about something he definitely shouldn't talk about with students. "Sorry, Alice, top secret, that."

Alice smiled warmly. "No problem, Hagrid, I understand," she said, while looking him in the eye. What followed were several rather interesting events flashing into her mind. She kept her face even as she easily stole the secrets out of her new friend's mind. "Anyways, tell me more about Fluffy."

As she spent a while listening to Hagrid talk about his wonderful and friendly (to him) beast, Alice's mind was reeling from her discoveries. Albus Dumbledore was guarding the Philosopher's Stone for his friend, Nicolas Flamel. The very day he had sent Hagrid to remove it from the vault at Gringotts, an unknown Dark Wizard had attempted a robbery at the bank and the incident seemed to be connected. Hagrid didn't know how Dumbledore had predicted the attempt to steal the stone, and that was likely to remain a mystery to Alice.

It seemed that her Deliria Lovedoll persona would be having a rival to the title of up and coming Dark Lady. Anyone with the skill to break in and out of Gringotts without getting caught had to have some impressive skill, and going after the Philosopher's Stone showed quite the ambition. That was worth keeping in mind, and she would have to look deeper in the shadows to see if there were any other signs of this mysterious attempted bank robber.

Perhaps more important, Alice now knew the Philosopher's Stone was in the castle. The things she could do with that stone, no one but Flamel was known to ever play with the possibilities, and people only knew a couple things the thing could do. The alchemist had kept it hidden well, and if anyone else ever made one, no one else ever announced it.

When she came out of the hut, she was smiling. Not only had she made herself a new friend, but now she had something new and interesting to spend some time on while she was at school. Because before the school year was done, she was going to steal that stone.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

As she couldn't do anything about the Stone immediately, Alice thought it best to devote the weekend to getting better ingrained with her fellow Slytherins. She had been somewhat lax on that throughout the week of school, though it was known the Lestrange had been friendly enough for them to be in something of a preliminary alliance, and if Alice was going to have just one relationship in her own house, it was that one she wanted to know better.

Alice was not the only one slipping on the social battlefield, as while she had expected Lestrange to be center stage as the popular girl, it turned out Parkinson had been excelling on that front. The girl might be full of herself, but she was actually decent at making other girls default to her opinion. Bulstrode, Runcorn, Davis and Greengrass had started gathering around her. Nott and Malfoy seemed to get along with Zabini well enough on the boys end of things.

The only one who had not seemed to find a place quite yet was Lily Moon. It wasn't very hard to see why, as she often had a rather absentminded look about her like she was always thinking about something else. She recalled Pansy had tried to acquire the girl, but Moon had just looked her in the eye and told her that she wasn't quite leadership material. She was certainly not the usual sort of Slytherin.

So Alice decided to try her hand at acquiring the girl's allegiance, though at the moment she accepted a shared attempt with Lestrange as her pseudo-sister seemed reluctant to leave Alice alone for the weekend. They happened to bump into Moon in the Library. The blonde haired, light blue eyed witch was sitting alone, and Lestrange took center stage before Alice could get there. "Working on homework, Moon?" she asked casually, taking a seat. Alice took the next seat over; though she was annoyed Eris had decided to act first.

"Ah, I was wondering when the next collector would come," mused the girl softly, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them to stare into Eris Lestrange's eyes. "That's odd. Something in the way. Contacts, maybe?"

Eris blanched, and Alice blinked. Contacts… was that how Lestrange hid the eyes she had gotten from her real father? And more then that, how exactly did Moon know that at a glance? … Was the girl actually trying to use Legilimency? That would be rather impressive at her age, though foolish to admit out loud.

When Moon began to turn her head Alice's way, Alice brought her occlumency to full force, and then felt nothing. Lily Moon's eyes looked into hers as though staring deeply into her soul, but there was no pressure of another mind attempting to push its way into hers. Suddenly, very suddenly, her vision of Moon changed. She saw her as a girl with glowing eyes that saw more than they ever should. She was quite innocent, but lonely and intelligent enough to know she wouldn't be so innocent forever. Alice could practically see her magic. Moon flinched and the odd vision ended, though Alice couldn't see herself forgetting the sight any time soon. "Dangerous one, aren't you, Potter? Apologies, but I think you scared me a little. Not one collector but two coming after me, though, I am quite flattered." Well that just brought up more questions.

While Eris seemed stunned to silence, Alice decided to take the initiative. "What exactly did you just do?"

"Two things, one that I do automatically and the other I shouldn't have done at all, I think," the girl admitted. She allowed her eyes to travel away from both Alice and Eris, and adopted a rather dreamy expression that didn't quite reach her eyes which seemed somewhat… unsure? "Ever heard of a Perceiver?"

"No," Alice admitted, and it was rare enough that Tom's memories had lacked information on a magical talent or ability that she now needed to know. She rather wish the girl would look her in the eye again so she could just pick it out of her mind, though perhaps it was best to hold back that eagerness. She did not need to get caught breaking into people's personal thoughts.

"It's a rare talent, runs in my family," said the girl softly. "By looking someone in the eye we perceive something of what sort of person they are, and possibilities of what they can become. Some people think of it like a form of Divination, though that's not quite true. The things I see can change, while a foreseen future, supposedly, cannot be changed."

Alice didn't like that. She didn't need people seeing what she was like on the inside. "Strengths, weaknesses?" she asked casually.

"Personality," Moon added.

"And the second thing you did?"

Moon had an uncomfortable frown on her face. "Have you ever heard of a Soulgaze?"

Now that one Tom's memories had information on, and now Alice mimicked her pseudo-sister as she blanched. "That, Moon, is very illegal nowadays."

"Yes, people aren't supposed to know how to do it anymore," she mused, though her voice seemed calm, there was discomfort in her eyes that would focus on no one in particular. "I imagine that sort of blackmail will ease your minds a little."

Eris seemed to come back into reality with that. "Yes. Yes, quite. You won't be mentioning anything about anything, then." She glanced at Alice. "We won't say anything, yes?" The girl tried to sound intimidating, and if Alice wasn't mentally comparing it to Bellatrix and thinking the expression adorable it would work on most children quite well.

"Not a word to anyone," said Alice, who only barely remembered that what Eris was worrying about was her secret contact lenses hiding her true eyes. Alice couldn't exactly relieve her worries by telling her she already knew what her real eye color was. That wouldn't have helped. Eris nodded at that and then quickly left the table, eager to show no more hints about who she really was. Alice turned back to Moon, her wand out and flicking around them, and suddenly the outside world was utterly silent and no one could perceive the girls doing anything but talking amicably.

"What did you see in my soul, Lily?" she asked in a rather cold voice as her eyes became glowing red.

Lily Moon flinched and her gaze went downward, submissive. Alice's inner Dark Lady liked that. "Two red eyed snakes coiling around a girl, one coming out of your scar and the other coming out of some necklace around your neck."

Alice vaguely thought she'd had a dream like that recently but she kept her mind on the present. "As far as I know, memories of such things can't be obliviated. I think that gives us a slight problem, Lily."

"I won't tell anyone," Moon said quickly, shivering slightly.

"Oh, I know, but the problem is some people can learn things without you saying a word," said Alice. "How is your Occlumency? Look me in the eye as you answer, and don't try to lie." Alice's voice was low and dangerous, though she kept a pleasant smile on her face.

Alice was beginning to enjoy the flinching and fearful nature. While someone having a deeper idea of what she was really like was troubling, getting to act out her Dark Lady side again was always a pleasure. The poor girl was quickly becoming terrified, and Alice wondered how detailed her perceptions were of people. "I have never practiced it. Most of us haven't, only Malfoy is very proficient in our year, and Nott has practiced some." So she could see that much. Interesting. She most certainly wasn't lying, and did not seem to notice the presence reaching into her mind, learning.

'Should I kill her?' wondered Alice to herself. She wouldn't do such a thing out in the open, of course, but it was an option. The girl had a very decent idea of what she was capable of doing now, as well as the sort of monster she would likely grow into by the time of her majority, and while she might not know what exactly her vision of Alice's soul(s) meant, she was uniquely capable of figuring it out. She could not have it getting around that she was claiming the soul of Lord Voldemort a piece at a time.

At the same time, Alice was not yet quite so far down the dark path that she took to killing as easily as Tom. Further, such a girl on her side could be a valuable asset, and the clever Slytherin had already hinted how she could be useful by telling her who else in their year had any gift in Occlumency.

"You referred to us as collectors," mused Alice calmly. "What's that mean?" Alice already had an idea of that, but she decided to get to know for sure while she thought on what to do with this girl.

"People who draw other people to them, leaders, people who weave social webs. In Slytherin there are two types of people, collectors and collections. I do not have what it takes to be a collector, but I would be a valuable addition to anyone's collection."

"I prefer thinking of it as Mistress and Minions," said Alice with a grin. "You will be avoiding the eyes of Professors Snape and Dumbledore, I think." Her red eyes faded back to green, which seemed to give Moon the impression that she could relax. "Consider yourself collected, Lily Moon."

The girl nodded as the charms against sights and sounds fell. "Understood, Miss Potter," she said, courteously, though she rather looked like she wanted to run for her life.

"Please, call me Alice," said the Dark Lady before whispering. "Though when alone you can call me Mistress if you want. I rather like that title." She waited a moment longer. "You can go if you want." Lily nodded and offered a soft goodbye before dashing off as quick as she could without drawing too much attention to herself.

Alice was about to go herself, but then another person took the recently vacated seat. "Hello, Alice, doing some light reading?" asked a bushy brown haired girl who despite bringing a tower of books with her seemed eager to see Alice anyways. A quick sweep of her mind told Alice that Granger had not yet built any other relationships with those in her house besides Longbottom. Alice wasn't entirely surprised considering her overeager personality.

"Started off with light conversation, though I was thinking about grabbing a book while I was here," lied Alice easily. "How has your first week at Hogwarts treated you, Hermione?"

The studious lion grimaced for a split second and then put up a smile. Ah, she was the type that didn't like to acknowledge her problems out loud, then? Understandable. "I find our subjects quite interesting, don't you? I was able to get my match really close to a needle in class, I think Professor McGonagall was pleased. A few people actually tried to sleep in History of Magic, can you believe it? Professor Flitwick-"

"Hermione, I won't disappear the moment you stop talking," giggled Alice. "And I don't need a full summery all at once."

"Oh, sorry," she said, looking embarrassed.

"It's fine," said Alice, waving it off. "I don't have much experience with friends outside of a couple, but I think it's best if my new one allowed herself to breath and take her time." Alice could see the girl brighten at the light assertion that they were friends, as it would have been obvious even without legilimency that she hadn't really had many of those before, if any.

Alice decided to relax into the chair and let her Saturday go to the girl who she mentally accepted as her pet lion. Two minions equaled a Saturday well spent in her opinion.

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It took a while for Eris to realize that no one would be able to realize her secret merely from knowing she had lenses on her eyes. In fact, she now knew that that the contacts did a little more than advertised and kept out certain nosy abilities from getting a better idea of her in the first place. Moon started hanging around Alice.

The mystery that was Alice Potter had only deepened from that strange event in the library. What secrets was she hiding to break her usual public mask of friendliness and grow so cold and intimidating? Eris wished she had stuck around to eavesdrop, but she had only thought about it later when she'd recovered from the shock.

To further the needs of her curiosity, Eris continued to associate herself with the girl for the next week, which now came with the advantages of sharing Lily Moon's company as well. The carefree way in which she scanned the school on Alice's orders was a little creepy to think about, and her oddly detached persona when she wasn't.

"I fail to see how the Muggleborn will be capable of accomplishing much of anything. The girl can't even seem to make a friend."

Alice rolled her eyes, as she had made it rather well known how she felt about blood status. "Sure she has," she replied. "She's my friend. The only thing Muggleborns lack is a background in our world, something I am sympathetic to with my background, though Hermione also lacks a bit in social graces at the moment. She'll learn, though."

"Certainly," said Moon in her usual soft tone that was somewhere between thoughtful and dreamy. "She loves to learn. Though her adherence to authority figures may work against you in future."

"Nah," Alice said with a casual brush of her hands. "I merely need to tilt that sense of authority from everyone with a title to just me. That can't be too hard. So, does her future potential match her current above average talents?"

"I would say so," mused Moon. "Her magical power will be above average, though not monstrously great, but it is her mind which is likely to overtake even most of the Ravenclaws with magical knowledge. Though if she can't find it in a book, she won't take to it easily."

Eris could tell Alice was plotting and scheming as she went quiet, thinking of how best to mold her pet mudblood. She really needed to rescue Alice from this notion that a muggleborns could be made into something in their society, though she had to consider how to tactfully approach the subject. It was clear the girl took the stance mostly in memory of her mother, Lily Potter, and as Draco had learned, was very aggressive about it if even so much as the word 'mudblood' came up.

"It'll be hard to turn the girl into anything in modern society," she said. "Even if muggleborns gained some ground after the war, they still won't give the best jobs to them."

Alice chuckled. "Like I want to lose anyone to something like Ministry work, anyways," she said. "Besides, society can change rapidly with the right leaders in place." The girl had the strangest smile, which Eris thought made it seem like the girl wanted to rule the world. Then Alice looked at Eris and sighed. "The Malfoys really put those Blood Purity lessons in thick, didn't they?" The look she gave was pitying.

Eris felt insulted, but kept herself from hissing a response. Instead, she kept her voice even and calm. "It is well known fact that purity of blood makes a difference," she defended. "If we allow our bloodlines to all be tainted by muggles, we might all squib out in just a few centuries of such lesser breeding."

Moon's attention became more focused as Alice gained a sharp look, either curious or fearful of how this debate would go. Eris wondered if the other girl would lose her cool, but she saw Alice gain a thoughtful expression for a moment, as though deciding how best to speak. "Do you really believe magic to be so… weak?"

As counter-arguments went, Eris could admit she hadn't been expecting that. "Of course not," she defended instantly. "Magic is power, it's what makes us better." She wasn't even sure how the two subjects were related.

"And yet you think that a bit of muggle blood can destroy it?" Alice said in a rather cold, mocking tone. "Hell, you think any amount of muggle blood can destroy the spark of magic in us?"

Eris blinked. She had never quite thought of it like that before, though she supposed that the idea of muggle blood suppressing magic would be close to saying that muggle blood overpowered magic itself. This revelation rocked her slightly, and she grew quiet as she mulled it over.

Alice took the silence as permission to move forward with her own theories on the subject. "According to studies, most muggleborns, if not all, are in actuality the descendants of squibs. Squibs are just as common among purebloods and halfblood children. I postulate that the problem of squibs is an entirely separate issue from the interaction of mundane bloodlines with magical. Though squibs are an issue that should be further researched and stopped if possible, magical blood has no need to fear the muggle blood."

Alice gained a rather venomous stare as she declared, "Muggles will never be able to stamp magic out of our bloodlines no matter how much of their blood runs in our veins."

Eris continued to silently stare at the declaration as she worked it out in her brain. "I'm not afraid of muggles," she found herself murmuring, wondering how all her beliefs about blood purity could seem so much like cowardice in the face of a muggle threat. She had simply never thought that way, and more importantly, she was sure Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy didn't think that way either.

"Our magical world as it stands today if founded on such fears Witches and Wizards have for the muggle population," Alice declared. "Fear of witch hunts, though they only rarely ever caught the real thing, fear of oppression, fear of numbers. When we separated ourselves and hid magic from the Muggle World, they outnumber us by a factor of a thousand to one, and we knew we would never win an outright war against them. Nowadays they still outnumber us by closer to four thousand to one, and they have advanced faster than us. The things muggles are capable of now would shock you to your core, Eris Lestrange, and we have purposefully handicapped ourselves against them for those fears. We cannot continue on this path as we continue to believe the Statute of Secrecy will somehow defend us against them. And our first step towards defeating our fear of muggles is to remove our fear of their blood."

The impassioned speech brought only further silence in its wake, as both Moon and Eris were deep in thought over the assertions by their not-quite-friend Alice Potter. Alice seemed to contemplate what to do about this silence before she switched gears. "So, I hear we'll be starting Flying lessons this Thursday."

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While Eris took a while to apparently recover from Alice's impromptu lecture and mission statement., Alice found herself back to the boredom of the usual class schedule throughout the week. She wasn't really excited about flying, since she already knew how to, and Tom had never taken much to a broom. He never really liked relying on too much equipment, which was why he had been working on a theory on how to fly without a broom or similar medium, which was supposedly impossible.

Alice knew she would eventually perfect Tom's theory, though first she had to at least feel what flying was like all on her own. She was sure it would help her to better craft her technique if she took a few sessions to feel out using the medium first.

So, on Thursday, the Slytherins and the Gryffindors met on the grounds with Madam Hooch. She started with the usual stuff, and Alice easily commanded her broom up into her hand. That part was always pretty easy, she remembered. But before she could get up the air, Longbottom went zooming off and had himself an accident.

If Moon hadn't told her the boy really did have incredible potential, that incident would have been the last chance Alice gave him for ever being worth befriending. Honestly, what could shatter a boy's confidence so completely? It would take a miracle to build that boy up into something decent. Alice was annoyed at having to wait for Madam Hooch's return, and further annoyed by Malfoy's attempt to find humor in the situation.

The boy lacked subtlety at the moment, and it threatened to make lions pride up and begin an attack. He was about to snatch up some stupid rememberall Longbottom had dropped when Alice waved her hand and summoned the glass orb to her hand. "Useless sort of trinket, really," she mused, before tossing the ball towards Granger. " Make sure Neville gets that back, Hermione."

Alice was not going to have her lessons interrupted by petty bullying attempts. When Madam Hoock finally returned, they once more took to their brooms. And when Alice kicked off the ground, she quickly discovered something else that was different between her and Tom.

She liked flying a hell of a lot more then he had.


	15. Chapter 15 - Halloween Havoc

**Chapter 15**

 **Halloween Havoc**

"Happy anniversary, Tom," muttered Alice as she awoke on Halloween. A childhood love of the holiday had long faded, and Alice knew she would be moody throughout the day. When she got out of bed, she quickly figured out that she was not the only one with tainted feelings about this day.

Eris Lestrange seemed to be similarly moody despite an early morning delivery of birthday presents coming for her by owl post. Her cousin, Malfoy, had been quick to keep his distance as though this were usually a dangerous period of time to be around. She supposed they had both lost their families on this day, and even if it also happened to be Eris' birthday, nothing could undo what she had lost on her second birthday.

Alice decided to send her a small gift herself, just a few candy treats, something that said 'we're friendly enough but I don't know you well enough to get you something you'd really like just yet'. It was hard to tell if the girl appreciated the gesture much today, so Alice would have to wait and see later. Classes had been their normal, boring affair, and Alice just couldn't bring herself to care much about the coming Halloween feast.

So after classes, Alice went to an empty classroom and found something else to do with her time. "Megan," she whispered, and only a few moments later the part house-elf arrived with a crack. Rather quickly Alice found herself tackled to the ground as her first and best friend hugged her tight with all the affection she could muster.

"Oh, Mistress! You finally called me," she practically sang, before a slightly miffed look came onto her face, which quickly turned into a pout. "You took far too long, you know. I missed you. Olivia misses you too, of course, but that's different. I missed you more."

That pouting was adorable. "Sorry, Megan, I was a little busy gathering new minions and breaking my pseudo-sister's pureblood ideals. I promise to find more alone time for you to pop in."

"You better," admonished Megan, though quickly her cheerful nature broke through her attempt at pouting. "So, your cult of personality is growing, then?"

"Slowly but surely," Alice promised. "Before we talk pleasantries, though, I want to talk business. How's the ol' Delirium Gang doing in my absence?"

"Profits are steady and there's no trouble with the law," said Megan, suddenly formal now that they were talking business. "I've been using your glamor on occasion to show them you're around, but I don't think I'd do a good job of faking you long term. There are a few gangs trying to imitate some of your tactics, but no one trying to intrude on your territory." She slouched ever so slightly. "It is so weird being a member of the Magical Mob."

Alice snorted in amusement. "You got used to being the first minion of a rising Dark Lady, I'm sure you'll get used to this, too."

"Yes, Mistress, now let's hear more about the new ones, in life in a magical castle."

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Alice spent a while catching up with the first friend she ever made, but even the hours of conversation were not enough to see the end of All Hallows' Eve. With a quick Tempus spell she noted that the Halloween Feast would soon begin, but she had no will to attend the event. So she found herself wandering up through the castle aimlessly.

She found herself on the seventh floor before she realized where her subconscious had apparently decided to send her. She saw the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and stared at a familiar bit of wall. She began to pace in front of it before a door appeared. The Room of Hidden Things was but one form the wondrous room could take.

Years ago, a prefect by the name of Tom Riddle had discovered the room known as the Room of Requirement while searching for the near-mythical Chamber of Secrets. The boy had looked throughout the castle, but there was never any hint that could have found such a thing in a girl's bathroom. But the Room of Requirement was capable of many things, and provided him it's own passage that showed him the way.

After messing about with the ancient chamber and the great serpent within, he had spent his last year getting to know more about the secret passage that had lead him to his birthright, and the secrets of the Room of Requirement became his. Now his secrets belonged to his conqueror, and she knew what was hidden. There were a few new hidden items she noticed, and she thought it might be worth it to run through the whole room and see if there was much useful.

But her feet found her moving towards an old and familiar Diadem, and she felt something pull at her to take it. The sliver of her inherited second soul longed to be whole, and she found herself inching closer and closer to the Diadem, but many thoughts were halting her.

The first sliver of soul she had absorbed had fundamentally changed her being, to the point that even goblin blood magic had confirmed that her perceived name change was also magically true. The second one had increased her viciousness and desire to dominate her world. On the inside, there was some fear of whether she would become more Tom then Alice if she continued along her plan to claim his Horcruxes into her being.

Despite those fears, her fingers brushed the Diadem, and the pull to be closer only become stronger. She found herself lifting it up over her head and sliding it down. As it sized itself down to fit her head perfectly, the ancient jewelries magic became active again, sliding into her mind.

"Alice Riddle," whispered a voice in her mind, familiar and soft like an old friend. But it wasn't a friend, she knew that. Despite the familiarity, the voice was somewhat different. Softer, perhaps even feminine. Did the housing of the soul effect it in such a way, she wondered? Perhaps there was something of Ravenclaw still left in her artifact that shifted the soul's perception of itself.

"Tom," she replied. The sensation was different from when she had communicated to the Locket. The sliver of soul felt weaker, but the mental nature of the enchantments on the crown did more to strengthen it then the trickier nature of the Locket's enchantments.

"This attempt to conquer my soul is foolish, Alice," whispered the soul of the Dark Lord. "We could be stronger together, you and I. United. Your path is merely an attempt to suppress me, and you already know you will fail."

She frowned and wanted to disagree, but the advice seemed wise and true. Like the Locket, Tom's soul had twisted the enchantments to his uses, and the old snake was twisting wisdom and knowledge to his own whim. Alice felt herself squirm beneath the manipulative wisdom of Diadem, trying to assert her will to counter it.

"Only a fool would fight wisdom, Alice," it continued. "You aren't a fool, I know. I can see it here in your head. You merely need to accept my wisdom and we can be greater than either of us can be apart. The prophecy is fulfilled, and Voldemort is dead, and we can make Deliria greater then he could have ever been."

It truly sounded like wisdom. The Diadem was supposed to make the wearer wiser, after all, and with it and their souls combined she would be greater than Alice and Tom. But her insides still held onto the fight as an image came to mind of a previous incarnate of Tom in her head trying to form her into a puppet.

"No, Tom, I am your daughter in spirit, and we are too selfish of beings to share in glory," she said, and gripped onto the seemingly foolish selfishness like a lifeline.

"It's so foolish to fight," the Diadem's spirit told her. "Our original was foolish to fight you, but I don't want to disappear. I've sat in wisdom alone so long, cast off by our father. So alone. Do you really want to silence my voice and be alone in your head?" It was just a different tactic, she knew, but it once more sounded smart enough an idea for her to think about it, and every thought was binding her more and more, holding her back from ripping the soul apart and consuming it like the others. "Please, sister mine, let us horcruxes unite amicably, like a family."

Alice remembered how she had torn the soul from the other, and tried to find similar regret in this Horcruxes making, but lacked it. The Diadem was touching on longing desires of the little girl that made up half of Alice's psyche, the need for a loving family she couldn't find with her blood relatives.

Fear of oppression and submission was all she had to get the will to tear the Diadem from her head and toss it down, backing away as the whispers faded but the longing need remained. She felt tears threaten to escape her eyes but scowled at the Diadem. "That was very cruel to play with my heart and head so much, 'Sister'," she sneered, not that the Diadem could reply. She wasn't even sure it could hear her without being on.

She looked around the room, realizing that people could stumble upon it. Tom had so well protected his other Horcruxes, but he was willing to experiment and allow one or two to be in slightly more dangerous places. The chances of someone stumbling upon it seemed low enough, and if someone did, a puppet in Hogwarts had seemed like a good idea as the beginnings of his war were under way. For Alice, though, the idea was less appealing.

She leaned back down and picked up the Diadem, prepared fight it again if necessary. The spiritual connection flared, but the strength it gained in her mind did not seem to come without putting it on. "Good, there are limits," she murmured, though she couldn't find the willpower left to try to battle it off her head. The thought of more Tom in her was not appealing. "I think you need a different home, little sister."

"I'm fairly sure I'm the older sister here, Alice," said the Diadem, though it's word were not as laced in intoxicating feelings of wisdom and temptation. It still had a vaguely feminine quality to it, and with a slightly clearer head Alice wondered if she was right about the artifact effecting the soul within, or if this was Tom's attempt to seem less threatening and more like herself. Acting similar to Alice instead of his original self in an attempt to gain trust.

There was an odd intellectual fascination she found in her thoughts as she spoke with her spiritual sibling but she tried to stuff it down. "I suppose so, big sister," she admitted.

"So, I assume you mean to take me to the Chamber of Secrets," said the Diadem.

"It's the only place I know only I know the way to," confirmed Alice. "Least until I get over your mental manipulations and absorb you."

Alice felt actual fear from the Diadem. "I truly hope you don't, Alice," it replied. "I know you hate our father, but I'm not really him anymore. None of us are. You aren't. I don't know if the others think as I do, but you do. We're separate from him. While I might remember being him, I am practically a new entity, like you."

"You aren't like me," said Alice, though she frowned in thought. "You didn't have a new soul to combine with to change. The Tom in me was still Tom. I am who I am because there was an Alice too."

"But he was Voldemort, at the height of his power," argued the Diadem. "The killer of your parents. As you acknowledged with our Locket brother, I am not the same. The magic of the Diadem may not be as deep a change as a whole soul absorbing me, but I am deeply changed by the magics in me. I remember…"

Alice blinked as she remembered her own connection to the Locket, memories of those that wore it before, a connection with it's history, an instinctual understanding of how it worked, like the magic that had been in it had been her own power, the cold jewelry her own body. "You remember being on Rowena Ravenclaw's head," she mused.

"And Helena's," added the Diadem. "Our 'father' never really understood the wonder of my body's enchantments. Wisdom and clarity of thought, made dear mother more than capable of resisting even our ancestor Salazar from legilimensing his way into her thoughts. Quickens learning and understand, and enhances the memory to near total recall."

"… Mother?"

"Well, Rowena made my body as Voldemort crafted my soul, and you consider Voldemort something of a father. I figure I should share in the idea."

Alice found herself with a familiar sense of fondness she had felt for the Locket as she had spoken with it. Damn their strange spiritual narcissism Tom's soul pieces seemed to share for eachother, it was really messing with her judgement. "I suppose that makes sense, though don't think I'm convinced you actually see yourself that way," said Alice. "It seems to me you just want me to identify with you."

"I'd be lying if I said I would do anything for you not to end me," said the Diadem amicably. "I have inherited the fear of death that we all did from our father, and if you absorb me I might as well be dead. I hope you talk you out of it."

Alice began to walk out of the room that faded behind her, continuing the conversation in her head as she began to walk. "That was the idea in absorbing you all," she said. "Killing all that was left of him."

"My words still stand," said the Diadem. "You risk merely rebirthing him by absorbing him all, Alice. You have control for now, but you might not be able to handle his whole soul. Even the Locket's soul seemed to overwhelm you with our crueler characteristics while you rebalanced yourself."

"You've already told me you're just trying to keep me from ending you," said Alice.

"That doesn't negate the wisdom in my words. I may be somewhat selfish," Alice snorted at that. "But I don't want to disappear into him either. I want to be me."

"And yet you said something about unity, I recall."

"Well, of course. There was little wisdom in Fathers actions of splitting his soul, and you and I can feel the longing of our beings to be together. That doesn't mean not remaining individuals, you don't have to absorb me to be with me. Even this communication is quite fulfilling to me, surely to feel that too?"

Alice did not respond immediately, though she did feel it too. The longing was reduced with the Diadem in hand, and she found a traitorous thought in her head that maybe she would feel even better if the Diadem were back on her head. "I can't risk your influence clouding me," she murmured mentally.

"I understand, little sister," said the Diadem.

"Well, big sister, since you don't think of yourself as being dear ol' daddy Tom, what should I call you?"

"I'm rather attached to the name Ravenclaw," mused the Diadem in a thoughtful tone. "It's felt like my name for a while."

"How about Dia, then? Dia Riddle-Ravenclaw." Alice couldn't believe she was giving the horcrux a name. The attachment would not make getting the willpower to destroy it any easier.

"I like it," mused the newly christened Dia. "Are you sure about the Chamber of Secrets? I'm a little nervous about being near one of the few creatures that can cause me harm so easily."

"You'll be fine, she's asleep," said Alice easily. "And it's not like I'd keep you in the common room and risk other students picking you up."

"I'd like to spread my wisdom, if possible," mused the Diadem.

"No," said Alice with a commanding presence. "I don't need any rivals running around, and that is just one more good reason to solve the Horcrux problem permanently." A wave of fear rolled off the Diadem, and Alice admonished herself as she felt her heart soften.

"I wouldn't stand against you, Alice," Dia promised.

"Can't trust that, big sister. We're just too treacherous at our base nature," said Alice.

"We don't have to be with each other," countered Dia with apparent sincerity, and Alice became quite again. She rather wished her mind didn't seem to be falling so hard from this, or perhaps that her souls wouldn't.

Nearing the bathroom that hid the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets, the only think that brought Alice out of her thoughts was a sudden piercing scream. She blinked and found herself running towards the scream, which lead her into the very bathroom she had been going towards anyways, but there was a rather distinctive and foul odor in the air, and the door was wide open.

Her inner Dark Lady and the wise Dia equally admonished her as she found herself rushing into the bathroom, and Alice realized the reaction was far too heroic and Gryffindor for her Slytherin sensibilities. Of course, her inner child mentally retorted that there were not enough things this could be that would be dangerous to her so she could be forgiven a bit of carelessness.

The world tried to dissuade her from this notion with the sight before her of a terrified Hermione Granger with tear stained cheeks looking up at a massive mountain troll with its club raised. "Hermione!" she called out, and as she saw the club begin to twitch downwards, her wand was out faster then she could think.

The slashing motion of Sectumsempra went out and cut the hand off the beast. It's club and hand fell to the ground, and Hermione was covered in troll blood as the rest of its arm continued the motion that would have killed the young lion. Then the stupid beast stared at the stump where it's hand had once been in confusion before it roared out in pain.

The beast raised its remaining fist to smash down on the only target it had acknowledged, and Alice found a boiling rage coming over her. "She's MINE!" Alice growled before she pointed her wand at the back of the beast's neck and letting it erupt in a blasting curse. The beast started to lean as if to fall, and it was moving over the young girl still frozen in fear.

"Accio Hermione's Robes," she called quickly. The summoning spell did not work on any living creatures except flobberworms, but it was a limitation that was easy to work around. Hermione found herself pulled to Alice swiftly, though she was lucky Alice had enough control over her magic that they didn't just crash into each other.

She heard something wet hit the ground at her feet, and Alice glanced at it to see she had actually blasted the Troll's head off. She started to feel the drain of her magic, and she had put a little too much energy into just the two curses. Apparently she was very protective of her possessions, including her minions. That was a weakness she needed to keep in mind.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sniffling girl wrapping her arms tightly around her rescuer. "Th-thank you, A-Alice!" she managed to sniffle out.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," Alice said softly while hugging the girl back. "You're safe now, I've got you." While she acted calm for her friend, her mind was whirling, wondering how the troll had gotten in the castle. She also now had to stuff the Diadem in her robes, as there was no way she would be able to hide it in the Chamber now.

And now there was the fear of how she was going to explain how she pulled off killing a full grown mountain troll at the age of eleven. Fear gripped her heart as the sound of adult footsteps and gasps came into the room.

Alice paid a glance to see Professor McGonagall followed by Snape and lastly Quirrel. Quirrel looked at the sight in horror and seemed unable to stand for long. "What on Earth were you thinking of? You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape was bending over the troll, looking at Alice's work, and she knew he would know a Sectrumsempra wound when he saw it. He had invented the spell, after all. Alice found herself trembling. How much energy had she put into those spells, anyways? She knew she still didn't have an adult's magical stamina, but she was feeling exhausted. Then again, Trolls were magically resistant and durable, and Alice had cut it clean as paper and blasted it like it's head was meant to pop off like that.

"How… troll… Get in here?" she said, turning a glare at McGonagall, trying to assuage any shows of fear by pooring her anger out at being accused of doing anything wrong. She eyed Hermione who looked fearful but equally confused at how this had happened.

"G-got out i-in the dungeons," replied Quirrel softly. "I w-warned the h-hall."

"We weren't in the hall," Alice said as loudly as she could manage, but she felt weak on her legs. She looked Hermione in the eye, and brushed into her mind quietly. "I don't celebrate this day, and Hermione was feeling down after one of her housemates badmouthed her. Troll surprised us."

Hermione looked surprised that Alice had known that but quickly nodded. "It's true, Professor." Alice smiled slightly at that. Willing to corroborate a story and let the holes in it lie, Granger would make a good minion yet.

McGonagall seemed to soften at that. "Very well," she said, looking at the beast. "But how did you to manage to do this…" It seemed the true horrific magnitude of the scene only now hit her with the cut off hand and blasted off head detached from the body and the bathroom drenched in gore.

Severus in particular looked at the hand with a deep frown before looking at Alice. "Which of you did this curse?" he said while pointing the hand.

Alice couldn't think of a cover, and she knew even if Granger tried to cover for her she wouldn't even be capable of naming the spell. Severus had never published a book with his own creations before, after all. "I…" Thank Morgana for small favors as she was spared attempting to explain herself as she found herself blacking out.

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While Alice did have to stay in the Hospital Wing for a while, she was able to avoid explaining herself for a while. Hermione had also stayed overnight to recover from the shock of it, and had been there when Alice woke up, quickly informing her that they had been awarded fifteen points each for surviving the Mountain Troll. Alice half considered attempting to claim the body of the beast by right of conquest, but she would rather the incident fade from the minds of the staff as quickly as possible.

When she was released, however, she discovered quickly that she had not escaped explanation, as she found herself summoned to Professor Snape's office. She had been nervous about that, but was surprised when all he really did was offer advice.

"Be more careful with spell you find in your mother's old notes," he had warned. "And try to keep from acting like a Gryffindor, no matter how much the school seems to be expecting such heroics."

Much of the Slytherin sentiment was the same once she had returned to the privacy of the common room. "Really Alice, what were you thinking," murmured Eris, and Alice wanted to think she sounded like she truly cared, though she had enough pureblood training to hide it well for a child.

"This is just one more reason you should be wearing me," admonished Dia before she was placed in Alice's trunk. Alice knew she would have to sneak her into the Chamber of Secrets later, though a traitorous part of her was glad to keep the company a little longer.

Through the rest of the school though, the legend of Alice Potter had a new addition as Alice the Troll Slayer was now known for more than merely surviving as a baby. Alice liked whispers and awe better for this new feat then the one before.


	16. Chapter 16 - Circle of Friends

**Chapter 16**

 **Circle of Friends**

Alice knew she had Hermione's undying loyalty for life after the troll incident, and Alice was fully willing to exploit it to shape Hermione into greatness. Alice was still un-Tom enough to admit there was a real friendship going there, but there was just too much Riddle in her to avoid being a little Slytherin about the whole thing and manipulating the girl.

She did do anything bad anyways, just challenged a few of the girl's notions and helpfully poked down some of her negative traits, like her tendency to get bossy about certain things, and some of her reverence for authority figures and rules. She wasn't able to get the girl to ease up on her studiousness even a little, but hopefully she'd be able to teach the girl how to relax before exams came up.

Hermione seemed to spend as much time as she could with her Slytherin friend, latching on for dear life like a lifeline. Eris seemed somewhat annoyed by the girl's near constant presence around them, and more than once there were dark murmurings from the other snakes who either bought more into house rivalries or blood purities then others. Luckily the Lestrange heir no longer was falling into that category so much after she seemed to adjust to the thoughts given to her by Alice's speech.

Lily Moon offered neither complaints nor compliments and seemed carefully neutral around the lion, but then she seemed that way most of the time anyways.

One day during some free time, Alice decided to dig into Hermione's preconceived notions a little more. The girl liked to argue, but she was vulnerable to a well-reasoned debate, and she liked to consider herself logical most of the time, though she had a passionate sense of justice that was just a little too light Gryffindor for Alice to not try to tear down here and there.

"I'm just saying that most so-called dark magic is only dark because the Ministry is afraid of such power in the hands of a common witch or wizard," explained Alice calmly. "There's nothing inherently wrong with knowledge and understanding, and there are plenty of situations where such spells would be useful or even necessary."

"I don't think I can think of a single situation where the Cruciatus Curse would be useful or necessary," argued Hermione, despite a thoughtful look when the idea of knowledge being hidden came up. Alice knew her thirst for knowledge was a weak point, and the idea of being banned from knowledge sat wrong with her.

"Sure there is," responded Eris, finding this one of the more interesting debates to join in at from their library table. "The Cruciatus could be a good dueling spell as it tends to break through shields. It might hurt for a while, but it only causes lasting harm through prolonged use."

"It's really not much worse than a taser or pepper spray in that way," Alice supplied for the muggleborn sensibilities.

Hermione seemed to think on that with a frown. "Well maybe, but the Killing Curse-"

"Would be really good for werewolf attacks, since Werewolves are highly resistant to most other spells," mused Lily Moon thoughtfully. "And is certainly a less harsh fatal spell then the Entrail Expelling Curse, which doesn't get people an automatic life sentence if used."

"Like I said, Killing Curses aren't banned because they are worse than other curses, only because it's so effective in combat," said Alice. "The Ministry tries to control these things for fear of a populace capable of resisting their authority."

"Well…" Hermione really looked uncomfortable as she said what she honestly thought, knowing how bad it sounded. "Should we resist their authority?"

"Well, yes, especially when they are wrong," said Alice, and now decided to switch tactics to appeal to Hermione's sense of justice. "I mean, when they tried to ban muggleborns from Hogwarts and tried to bind their magic, the muggleborns magic reacted violently and resisted. They stopped after that."

All three girls looked at her sharply. "When did that happen?" asked Eris.

"1731, the Muggleborn Banishment Act as instituted by Minister Perseus Parkinson," she recited from memory. "It has been since downplayed by historical texts, though there were fatalities. I don't think most Purebloods remember that binding a magical core rarely if ever actually works."

"I didn't even know they could try," said Hermione quietly, wide eyed with horror at the thought of someone trying to take her magic away from her.

"The Ministry will sometimes threaten Muggleborns that try to stay out of Hogwarts with that and an obliviation," said Alice. "But the reality is it creates horrible magical backlashes, or worse, can give birth to an obscurial. Magic does not like to be caged or restrained." Eris looked similarly horrified now, probably before her family had often told her things like they should just bind the magical cores of every single mudblood around. Alice was pleased to see she was inspiring such thoughts. "A government is only as good as the people running it, and there will never be a guarantee of good and wise people in office forever. And the wizarding world hasn't had a lot of good ministers in its existence. After all, if there had been, someone would have shut down Azkaban a long time ago."

Eris' eyes darkened, and Hermione looked curious. "The wizarding prison, right?" asked Hermione. "What's wrong with it?"

"You read much about it?"

"No," admitted Hermione, who looked rather embarrassed to have not yet read everything in the library, which made Alice want to laugh despite the rather serious topic.

"Well, Azkaban was the fortress of a Dark Wizard by the name of Ekrisdis. Most of what he did there is not fully known, but whatever he did created a ton of Dementors. When the Ministry of Magic came into power, they needed some sort of Wizarding Prison. Instead of make a new one, in 1718, they decided to use Azkaban and employ the Dementors as guards.

"Dementors are dark creatures that can't even be killed by a killing curse, and they feed off of positive emotions. In other words, if you are sent to Azkaban, you are surrounded by creatures who purposefully feed on and remove your ability to be happy, and send you spiraling in a vicious depression while constantly relieving your worst memories."

Hermione stared in ever increasing disgust. "That's too cruel," she murmured.

"Without willpower, most wizards and witches lose their ability to use magic, so there is some cold practicality to the prison," Alice continued. "But the worst thing, the absolute worst thing, is that they employ Dementors as an alternative to a death sentence."

"How so?" asked the Gryffindor who looked like she was debating whether she really wanted to know.

"Dementors can eat your soul by locking it's jaws on your mouth," Lily chimed in softly. "It's called a Dementor's Kiss."

Hermione didn't have words for that. "… Wizards have proof of a soul and… feed them to Dementors?" She looked like she would be sick.

"Oh yes," said Alice, and her face contorted in anger for a moment. "And there is no proof Dementors leave the souls of those that die in the prison alone either. As far as we know, a soul is possibly indestructible. So, when a Dementor eats it, the soul is condemned to misery and depression for eternity, or until the Dementor dies from lack of other sustenance. It's a personal hell for anyone sentenced there. Even if you do get out of prison, half ex-cons in the wizarding world become suicidal afterwards anyways, and the other half become so haunted that they can only become worse people as a result. Only a small percentage ever go back to anything resembling normal. I would wish it on no one, guilty or innocent. I would rather give even my worst enemy a clean death."

Eris was shaking slightly, teary eyed but trying very hard to keep her face blank and emotionless. Alice thought she might have gone too far in her description of the place.

"It sounds like there are a lot of things that should be fixed in our world," said Hermione finally after the awkward silence lingered. "And a lot of laws re-examined."

"Exactly," said Alice with a more cheerful smile and a joking expression that hid the reality of her ambition. "That's what our generation is for, fixing things. When I rule the world, Azkaban is over and dark magic is legal."

Eris laughed loud enough that they would have been kicked out of the library without Alice's quiet privacy spells keeping them from being overheard. "Or perhaps when I do," she said.

It showed that Hermione was at last beginning to spend too much time with Slytherins when she said thoughtfully, "I think I'd make a good Minister of Magic."

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Reminding herself of the Dementors and the injustices of Azkaban gave Alice the compulsion to work on the problem of the place, and the horrible issue she had discovered over the summer. She had yet to think of a way to get Sirius Black free of the place legally, and as her inner Dark Lady was quick to do, her mind fell into thoughts of illegal methods of removal. Besides, if she decided to orchestrate a breakout, perhaps she would be able to acquire a couple inmates.

Of course, the main problem would be the Dementors themselves. The creatures were one of the few things in the world that were completely immune to the Killing Curse, and the soul sucking creatures frightened her a little more than they did Tom. While Dark Lords were historically known to be able to communicate and recruit the creatures, Alice was not sure of her own inner darkness being the right sort to ward the demonic monstrosities off from her.

The darker and more monstrous a Dark Wizard or Witch was, the more Dementors would feel them as kindred spirits. To say that very few Witches and Wizards ever attained that level of spiritual corruption was something of an understatement, and the ones who did could be counted on one hand. Lord Voldemort, however, was one of the few, though he had only tempted a few of the dark entities to his side in his time. If the war had gone on much longer, Azkaban prison would have fallen to his control in a matter of months.

While Alice might share a chunk of his soul, she was not nearly so corrupt and twisted as her father. She felt no kinship towards the floating horrors, and would rather see them wiped from existence, even if she currently possessed no method of which to do so. Her first thought was to develop a method of destroying Dementors, but that could take considerably more time then she was willing to take on the project while leaving her goal locked up in that madness inducing environment.

There were methods of controlling Dementors, though the one Alice and the Dark Lord knew about would only be capable of controlling one at a time, and Azkaban was known to house hundreds of the creatures. No, that method had to be tossed out for now unless she could discover a means of controlling more than one of the creature. She could conceivably concoct some new method of doing just that, but like devising a means of destroying the creatures, such research would take too long.

Finally, she could rely on the Patronus Charm, the more commonly known method of warding away Dementors. But while she was not dark enough to be seen as a kindred spirit to the wicked killjoys, she was not sure if she was too dark for the Patronus Charm. As a young child, Tom Riddle had doubted the stories of Dark Wizards being punished for attempting to use the pure Patronus Charm themselves. He had attempted to master it.

Voldemort never could conjure the Patronus Charm. As a teenager, he could only ever summon a grey cloud that wouldn't do much of anything against Dementors or Lethifolds. And as an adult, he found that the more wicked his 'happy memories' became, the worse the what came out of his wand when he tried it was. After that, he believed that flesh eating maggots were indeed a real possible affect of a truly Dark Wizard attempting to cast it.

Now, Alice understood that the principle of the spell was that it required not just a happy memory, but a good memory. The Dark Lord's happiness had mostly come from conquest and sadism, and thus he never made a proper Patronus, not even the usual silvery mist. While most Death Eaters never tried it, for hearing the same stories that a younger Voldemort had, there were a couple who could. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were both capable of producing corporeal Patroni, just in case the Ministry ever tried to use the creatures against them in a raid.

The Dark Lord had never asked how they managed it, as he never wanted to admit any of his followers could do something that he could not. It was a weakness Alice was determined she would not inherit from him, the prideful ass. But if there was a spell she couldn't quite figure out how to do on her own, she would share the humiliation.

So, at some point, she talked her friends into practicing spells with her. Because for some reason, she thought a bunch of first years also being unable to pull it off would make her feel better about this rather frustrating failure. She might try to stomp down some of the Dark Lord's old pride, but the Dark Lady could not fully escape her own pride on the matter.

She gathered them off to the Room of Requirement, which without Dia in it was quite safe to use to her heart's content, and informed them of her desire to master the advanced charm. "Well that's ambitious," stated Eris. "You know, most Witches and Wizards never learn that charm. Only one in every ten aurors even manages incorporeal ones."

Hermione in the meantime was ecstatic at the idea of extra homework (as only she could be), and hearing this bit only made her more eager to prove herself by doing it. "After all that talk about Dementors, I've read about this charm, it sounds rather impressive, and the wand movement isn't all that complex, though I haven't tried to cast it yet, but-"

"I think Hermione is up for trying," mused Lily with a giggle, interrupting the usual runaway rambling Hermione seemed to get herself into. It had taken a while for the trait to become endearing to the group, and Lily was the first to find it as funny as it was sometimes.

"Alright," said Alice. "The wand movement is a circular motion until the Patronus is produced, and the incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'. As far as I know, the hard part is concentrating on a happy memory and forcing that memory into shaping the Patronus. I wouldn't expect any of us to get a corporeal Patronus on our first try, but I think we'll call it a successful day if any of us can get a bit of mist out."

What followed this deceptively simple bit of instruction was hours of frustrating trial and error for the young girls. Needless to say, and as was entirely expected of most witches and wizards, their first efforts did not end up doing anything. Alice honestly did not understand this spell.

It seemed so simple in theory, like almost anyone should be able to do it, but reality did not match that theory. But why? If Alice had to guess, her thought would be that most people just didn't have happy enough memories, or didn't properly understand how to concentrate on those memories. Alice couldn't even seem to pull off the grey clouds that a teenaged Tom was able to do in his Hogwarts years, and that could never be called a successful Patronus.

To the chagrin of all three Slytherin's in the room, after hours of trying, Hermione Granger shouted "Expecto Patronum!" and a silvery mist came out the end of her wand. She smiled wide with pride before the mist went out with her concentration. Despite the premature end to the spell, the little lion jumped for joy. "I did it!"

"How!?" roared Eris, who despite trying not to look down on the 'mudblood' so much anymore still felt her cheeks burn in humiliation that a muggleborn could do a bit of magic before her.

"This should be informative," said Lily, who began to look at Hermione like she was a teacher in a classroom. Hermione began to settle into a stance that made her look like she considered herself to BE a teacher in a classroom.

"Well, at first I used the usual sorts of memories I could think of that made me feel happy at time," she began in her lecture mode. "Christmas, birthdays, time with my parents, reading my favorite book, that sort of thing. Of course, with each of them, nothing was happening. While the memories made me happy at the time, I don't think it was quite enough to truly concentrate the emotion into the spell. But then I thought of something more recent. I thought about the Troll Incident."

Alice gave the girl a quirk of her brow. "Hermione, I am not sure that it's normal to think of such a thing as a happy memory."

"I didn't think of the attack as happy!" she snapped, though not too harshly. "More… the rescue." At this she blushed. "I concentrated more on the feeling I had when you came to rescue me, how it felt that someone cared enough to risk their life for mine. And that one worked."

Alice looked down thoughtfully. Her own memories she had been using were similar memories to the first ones Hermione described. Little moments where she remembered being happy, but she had not thought of using a memory that would make her feel happy in hindsight, especially at a more profound level. Now she recalled Tom's memories of his grey clouds again, and remembered that what happiness he concentrated on was from the feeling of power and domination he had from his happier memories.

Eris frowned. "I don't think the rest of us will have a memory like that," she whispered, and there was an old bitterness in her voice, as the only memories she had that made her feel things in such a way were sad rather than happy.

"So it's not just about a happy memory, it's about a memory that makes us feel deeper joy," mused Lily, looking as though she were trying to think of such a memory.

They went back to practicing, though both Alice and Eris found easy grimaces on their faces as Hermione's silvery mist got thicker and lasted longer with each casting before the girl had to take a break from tiring herself out with so much success. Alice tried to delve into any memory that might give her a deeper feeling of happiness, but it was not easy to find one.

She tried when she first made friends with Megan, though there was no single profound moment in their friendship that made Alice's heart swell. Fighting off her cousin's gang brought a certain sadistic glee to her mind, but Alice already knew that wouldn't work. The further memories she got, though, a more guilty feeling came to mind, particularly for a certain ritual. She doubted she'd ever completely get over that.

There was one memory that once could have done it, when she had first heard the voice of Voldemort in her head. When Alice Potter had finally made a friend who could always be there for her. But them memory was tainted with the bitterness of how that whole thing had ended. It was a memory that was only happy before a certain Halloween, when a sad and horrible memory came to mind.

Alice spun her wand in a circle as her mind came to that memory. Her father dead trying to distract a murderous Dark Lord for even a few short seconds. Her mother's beautiful green eyes as she stared defiantly up into his red ones, knowing even as she died that she would forever prevent him from so much as touching her daughter with his wicked power. "Expecto patronum," she whispered, and then to her own surprise, a silver mist came out thickly. "The hell," she muttered before it vanished.

"You did it!" shouted Hermione almost as cheerfully as when she had managed to pull it off. "What memory did you use?"

Eris had a dark frown of jealousy on her face as yet another witch outdid her, but it stopped as soon as she looked at Alice's face. Lily looked Alice in the eyes and frowned. "What's wrong, Alice?" she asked with concern, as despite being afraid of Alice, they were actually friends by now.

"That… that can't be a happy memory," Alice whispered. Hermione was the last one to share a concerned frown with the Slytherin girls as she saw her best friend tearing up. "That shouldn't be a happy memory!" screamed Alice Riddle as she dropped her wand at felt her chest hurt.

Alice couldn't quite remember breaking down into a wailing cry of agony, though she did remember Hermione swiftly coming to hug her as she fell into a despair that could only happen to someone who had used the memory of murdering her own mother, and using the happiness of that loving sacrifice for her own Patronus. The standoffish Slytherins took longer and were more awkward in their attempts to comfort Alice from whatever it was she was unable to handle in her own mind.

They decided to end Patronus Charm practice after Alice had herself a nice long cry.

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After the embarrassment that was her little breakdown, Alice decided to put her plans to master that particular charm on hold, at least until she could recover emotionally. For now, she tried to act like it didn't happen, but she had to suffer through looks from her friends. Alice hated that anyone had seen that she did have a fragile side, hell, she hated having a fragile side in the first place, but it was worse that now they were watching for it.

With all this in mind, Alice decided she would be going home for the Christmas holidays. Well, not really. She would be going to work for the holidays in actuality. She had been going rather light on her Deliria persona, as she had no reliable means of sneaking out of the castle undetected. While Megan was capable of making an appearance for her and keeping her informed how things were going, she needed to make sure they never forgot who was the boss and she couldn't rely on Megan for that.

"I thought you hated the muggles," stated Eris upon hearing she would be going home for the holiday break.

"I do," replied Alice. "But I can't get all my Christmas shopping done in this old castle. And it will be boring without the rest of you." Most everyone else was going home for Christmas too, including Alice's friends.

Eris nodded, taking this reason as face value. "Well, since you'll be out of the castle anyways," she began, pulling out an envelope and giving it to Alice. Alice took it curiously and opened it. There was an invitation to a Yule Ball at Malfoy Manor. "You'll be expected in top quality dress robes, of course. Most if not all the important families will be there."

Alice resisted scoffing at the snootiest tone Eris had taken in a few months. "I'll be there," she found herself promising, partially to her own surprise. Sometimes Alice had a problem with her mouth going off before her brain fully accepted it's actions.

Eris quickly attempted to hide her smile. "Good. I shall see you there." It seemed Alice would be keeping herself busy while she was out of the castle.


	17. Chapter 17 - Christmas Cheer

**Chapter 17**

 **Christmas Cheer**

"You know, I think we might be stable enough," mused Deliria Lovedoll to her gang of petty criminals. "How does everyone feel about earning a bit of a Christmas bonus?"

The Delirium Gang had been doing well for itself even without Deliria's direct oversight. Money was flowing in and her people were being paid. They were tied to long string of unsolved robberies and burglaries across Britain, where they had started to be known as the 'Magician' by muggle police and news for their ability to get in and out without a trace, and no one knew if they were one person or a group. Luckily the Ministry still hadn't picked up on that since they were not overdoing it.

The drug market had been doing well, but their muggle allies were trying to get them to increase their output. In order to hire more potion makers for that, though, Deliria knew she would need to expand. Stability in their lives had helped her gang remain loyal to her, and their training had helped keep other gangs from attempting to step in their territory.

But they had kept their influence in Knockturn Alley fairly small, only keeping to a small protection racket of a few stores. Other gangs had caught on to the scheme, and now every store and residence in Knockturn was paying someone to keep gangs off their backs. The money to be made in it got a few people interested in trying their hand at taking over the Knockturn Alley gangs again.

There were now seven major gangs in Knockturn Alley, and Delirium was the smallest of the seven in terms of manpower. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had begun to notice the rising crime rates and increased organization, but now the budget cuts had finally shown themselves to the average criminal, and there was an increasing boldness in criminal underworld of Magical Britain. Without guidance, they could easily snowball into something more dangerous and open, but Deliria planned to take control long before then.

"What did you have in mind, boss?" asked Scabior.

"I think we should take over Knockturn Alley," answered Deliria simply, but a predator grin reached her eyes as the little girl she was on the inside allowed her viciousness to show.

The plan was simple. On the eve of the Malfoy Yule Ball, the other seven gangs of Knockturn were invited to meeting of the minds to discuss an alliance. The White Wyvern Pub was decided as a natural meeting place. Seven seats were placed at the single long table, and Deliria spent some of her savings under the Delirium Agency account to keep the building empty of any interference. The expense would be worth it with the expansion, or so she told herself. If this went wrong, it could turn into a horrible setback, or even end up getting her killed, but the future Dark Lady in the making was willing to take such risks.

Deliria sat at the head of the table, with Williams and Scabior standing as her lieutenants, and Draper manning the door, while the rest of her gang sat in the rest of the near empty pub, waiting. Her competitors arrived one group at a time, each with an onterage, though only one Angus Grimly had decided to mirror Deliria's actions of keeping two of his best behind him at all times while he took a seat.

Angus Grimly was an older gentlewizard, at the age of eighty-seven, with short white hair and a clean shave, and better dressed then most of his counterparts. He had a smuggling ring, and had kept himself out of prison by keeping close ties with a few wealthy allies in high places here and there. He was probably the smartest out of her rivals, and had the second highest count of people working under him. A quick glance to his eyes also let her know that he was an Occlumens, and at her attempt to read him all he did was give her a rather chilling smile that didn't reach his eyes.

The one with the highest count of men working under him was a tall thirty-something Erik "Bonebreaker" Bagman, a cousin to the department head of Magical Games and Sports, who started off with simple gambling ring that was not technically illegal under wizarding law, until he started using Bonebreaker curses in his debt collection methods. He was relatively good looking and charming by criminal standards, but behind that easy smile was a brute. His business had expanded fast once he caught on to the protection racket, and he was also taking over the prostitutes in Knockturn. The man was an easier read then Grimly, but the man would be dangerous if his power base continued to grow unchecked.

The rest were, to be honest, beneath Deliria's notice. Brutes and thugs that just hadn't been absorbed yet by the real power players. They were merely taking advantage of recent upswing to the underworld and had some ability to manage those of weaker wills then themselves. With the way the four men were staring warily between Bagman and Grimly, they knew who the real powers were. Sadly, they didn't know enough to give Deliria the same respect, though Bagman at least gave her a studious stare.

She was the only witch at the table, and the pub was now filled with the men (and a sparse few women) of her rivals. Her inner Alice voice wondered if maybe she had underestimated how intimidating it would be to be surrounded like this, but Deliria pushed the thought out of her mind. She would show know weakness here.

"Gentewizards, welcome and thank you for coming," she announced, standing up slowly and showing her empty hands as she spread them in her gesture of courteous welcome. "Knockturn Alley is changing, and we are the faces of that change. It's been a decade since the Dark Lord fell, and we've been laying low too long, but there's money to be made and we're the ones answering the call. The transition to unified organized crime can either be bloody or clean, and I thought it would best if we transitioned clean while MOM is unprepared."

"Like a mudblood bitch with less men to her name should be in the same league as us," said some moron with the next lowest amount of criminals in his gang, whose name Alice decided she would not bother to remember.

Deliria's eyes flashed red, and she pointed her hand to the man and squeezed it as though she were squeezing his throat while lifting the hand up. The man made a choking sound and found himself rising out of his seat. Star Wars was a rather inspiring little series of movies, with a rather accurate impression of how Dark Lords tended to act in real life, and it had taken a lot of work to shape her wandless magic to imitate Darth Vader on command. She still hadn't mastered wandless lightning, but she could make a spark.

While the nameless man's men went for their wands, the show of wandless magic and her suddenly red eyes stopped them in their tracks as they looked at the girl in a boy's game with newfound horror. The man kept kicking, and tried to fetch out his wand, but Scabior merely flicked his wand and silently disarmed him.

It said something about how well she had trained her little gang that they all looked impassive despite being just as surprised at their bosses power.

The man made his last strangled choking breath and stopped kicking and struggling a minute before she let his body drop to the floor with a thud. The magic used was actually a little much for her, as wandless magic was far more tiring and wasteful of energy then using a wand.

"Please, do me the curtesy of keeping foul language off the table," she said, her eyes becoming normal and black and a pleasant smile on her face. "Don't worry; my people will deal with the cleanup after this meeting." She paid a glance to the now leaderless men who looked unsure what to do, and then she glanced at their wands. The men slowly put their wands away warily.

Studying her rivals, she saw Grimly was keeping had schooled his features into a neutral nothing, while Bagman was looking impressed but not fearful. The other men were now giving her the fearful respect they should have had from the beginning. Good.

"I assume there are no more questions of my validity at being at this table?" She actually waited for some word of protest, but none came. "Good, without further interruptions, then, maybe we should decide who else deserves to have a place at this table. Mister Grimly, Mister Bagman, I think you two have no need to prove your placement at the top of Knockturn Alley's food chain, but after seeing this lot, I have a feeling we might be the only ones that should do the talking."

"I think I agree, Miss Lovedoll," said Grimly with a nod.

"And seven becomes three," mused Bagman with a lopsided grin.

"Now wait just a-"

"If you three step out of your seats and join the riffraff, you might live to be part of an incredible future," stated Deliria calmly. The man looked ready to argue, but then his eyes drifted down to the body. It only took a few more seconds for the chairs to scrape around and the nobodies drifting around the pub towards their minor power bases for some sense of safety. "Now we can begin proper discussion on the matter." She finally sat back down at the table.

"We all know Mister Bagman has the most men at his disposal, and you have proven yourself a strong force of will unto yourself, Miss Lovedoll, but I have been in this business a long time," began Angus Grimly, with the calm voice of a wizened old grandfather. "I know the ins and outs, and I've seen the rise and fall of several powers in our business. I suppose we should first discuss whether this meeting is about the distribution of territory and power, or whether this is about which of us should be in control of the whole alley, and beyond."

"And if it is the latter, I don't have to tell you that I don't mean to call anyone else 'Boss'," asserted Erik Bagman.

"While we could duel for the honor, it is not my intention to pull either of you out of this industry that is finally back on the rise," said Deliria. "All three of us have our own specialties, and I see no reason take those specialties out of this business. We could make this a discussion about splitting territory, or we could do something new in our world: We could work together as a Triumvirate, and pool our resources together."

Both men looked surprised at that declaration, and thoughtful. "Well, I have my gambling ring and the girls, and Mister Grimly has his smuggling operation, but while I hear you started this protection idea, I'm not sure what other schemes you actually run, Miss Lovedoll."

"Oh, my specialty is the muggle world," she supplied. "We make most our money from business ventures there."

"You risk ICW involvement with schemes like that," said Bagman with a laugh.

"Only if we get reckless and stupid," countered Deliria. "And as we've been doing it for about two years without problem or notice, I have doubts about ICW and MOM having much ability to notice our activities out there. Though if your men have to hear any details about it, then I'm afraid I'll need to personally interview them all and make sure they won't try repeating anything they hear about it to the DMLE."

Both men considered her for a bit and the room became quiet with thought as people watched the moment where it was decided how Magical Britain's criminal underworld would be run.

"I'm interested, but I think the rest of this meeting we will need to talk details," said Angus Grimly. "And perhaps draw up a magical contract afterwards to assure each other of no subterfuge between us."

"Agreed," said Erik Bagman.

And with that and a night of negotiation and hammered out details, the Knockturn Triumvirate began, though the final contract between them would officially signed on New Year's Eve while they began to reorganize the Knockturn Alley gangs and shut down all the lesser competition in their wake.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The Malfoy Yule Ball had, of course, happened before Christmas, on the day of the winter solstice. Alice arrived in a freshly bought set of green dress robes with no expectations for any real fun and every expectation to be playing polite politics with everyone she saw there besides the one person who invited her. She arrived precisely on time and joined the line that had started near the entrance of Malfoy Manor.

She had memories of the building from Voldemort, and Lucius' tastes had not changed much since the war, all too many opulent shows of money and power. Alice had to plaster a false face of excitement and acted like she didn't really know what to expect from an event like this, despite knowing exactly what she was really in for. The line led from the front door to the ballroom, which was magically larger than the house itself and could fit all the high class guests.

Most members of high society were there, except for a few conscientious objectors who would never believe that Lucius Malfoy was ever under the Imperious Curse, and following in the wake of the wealthy old families were a few high end Ministry employees, and then a couple ex-Death Eaters that otherwise didn't belong save for being old friends of the family. Alice was not the only child around, but she probably was the only one who didn't look like she expected to be bored.

She handed the doorman her invitation, and then was greeted by a man she knew better then he could possibly know her. "Welcome, Lady Potter," said Lucius Malfoy politely. "Glad you accepted our invitation. You look lovely this evening."

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy, it is good to meet you at last," Alice greeted with a curtsy. "I've heard so much about you from Eris and Draco."

Lucius Malfoy had not much changed outside of looking perhaps a touch older and with a greater air of someone used to having things done his way. He played greeter beside his wife and son, and would no doubt be doing the same for each and every guest that walked through his door. Poor Draco Malfoy already looked fatigued and he would still have a couple hours to go at this. She wondered how Eris had managed to escape this united family front.

It would not be the last of the usual empty courtesies and beginnings of worthless small talk in the evening as she found herself often stopped for such things as she moved through the ballroom. While some of the Death Eaters were merely going to pay lip service to being polite, a few were carefully studying her as they spoke, as though unsure what side of the line she would ultimately end up on. Several non-Death Eaters were all too eager to shake her hand, and even thank her for what she did, almost as eager as those that had met her in the Leaky Cauldron in the summer.

Others were just as eager to shake her hands as a celebrity, such as Cornelius Fudge, in some hope of ingratiating himself. Some of them she didn't know, but most of them she did recognize somewhat from Tom Riddle's past. One familiar face she was not surprised to see was Horace Slughorn, though she was surprised when the man gave her one of his more sincere smiles while greeting her.

"Goodness, it's easy to see Lily in you, young lady," he said, and there was some other emotions in his eyes that she couldn't quite categorize. He had never looked at Tom that way, she remembered that much. "She was one of my favorite students."

"You knew my mother, sir?" she asked. Had her mother been one of the last few members of the old Slug Club? Voldemort hadn't paid much attention to such things after starting his war, and a muggleborn in the club would not have acquired his notice as anything special at the time.

"Yes, back when I was still teaching," he said. "She was a genius at potions at the time, Charms too from what I heard from Filius. I think we always wished we'd had her in our houses, but Minerva had the good luck there. Such a bright student." Oh, she must have been a real favorite, her mother, or Slughorn was just laying it on thick to get Alice into his collection.

"You were head of house?" she asked, though already knowing the answer.

"Yes, I ran Slytherin at the time," he supplied.

"Ah, my house then," she said with a bright smile.

Slughorn smiled in return at that. "Oh, if you have even a fraction of your mother's talent, you'll go far there," he said.

"I've heard more than one favorable comparison by my teachers before," she mused.

"Excellent," said Slughorn, though a faraway look began to creep into his eyes. "I had worried the world had lost a true talent when… Well, I'm sure you'll do her proud, Lady Potter."

"Please, you can call me Alice," declared the girl. She had a feeling Horace Slughorn was of the few that considered Halloween a time of loss and sadness, as she did, and that earned the man an opening into her good graces this evening.

Eventually, Alice was able to escape the mingling by going off towards what must be the unofficial kid's corner, as all the children who wanted to hide away from the boring chatter of adults had gone off to it. She recognized a few of them as her classmates, like Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson, though there were a few she didn't know, like the younger kids.

Eris was sitting down and immediately brightened at the sight of her. "Looking lovely, Lady Potter," she said.

"Please don't, I've been hearing that all night," said Alice wearily. It was amazing how quickly all the courtesy and the honorific of her name got so tiring so quickly, and it had not been a quick while since she had arrived.

"Ah, the trials of high society," said Eris knowingly, apparently feeling like she had played a prank by inviting Alice to an event like this. Alice might have had a better idea of what such an event would be like, but even so, the prank had succeeded in wearing her down all too quickly. "I hope you at least got in a dance or two, had some fun here and there."

"You know, most people were too excited to meet me to even ask," Alice informed her, and privately realized she didn't know exactly how to dance from the female perspective, and Tom hadn't exactly kept up practice after beginning her reign of terror as the Dark Lord anyways. That seemed oddly intimidating to think about, and she wondered what sort of person she was sometimes to be more intimidated by the prospect of dancing then the prospect of negotiating with criminal gang leaders. "So, why aren't you at the front door with your family, greeting the guests?"

"Oh, my aunt and uncle stopped trying to get me to do that when I started pulling off the patented 'Bellatrix' smile at people. People are rather easily intimidated when I remind them of my mother for some reason." Eris put on a mask of false innocence before it broke with a laugh. "There are some advantages to infamy, I suppose." She wasn't able to hide the second of sadness that passed over her eyes when she said that.

"Probably some advantages to just plain fame too, but it's hard to see that when everyone is willing to get rabid just to get a glance at my head," supplied Alice. "Least they aren't quite as bad as the first time I went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they aren't better by much."

"Better than them waiting for you to snap and become some crazy murderess."

"Well, there were a few nervous glances after I was sort into Slytherin," mused Alice. 'And besides, I already can be considered a crazy murderess,' thought the Dark Lady in the making. She had killed a man yesterday just for speaking ill of her, and as a means of showing her power before her rivals. If anyone ever learned that, she could at least comfort herself by knowing it would make Eris feel better about it.

Eris smirked slightly at that but wasn't completely out of whatever melancholy thoughts came when she thought about her mother and the reputation that brought with it. Alice would have worked on that problem if it wasn't for the dance offers coming at that moment.

Theodore Nott was the first to offer, and Alice couldn't think of a good reason to say no, but she did decide to warn him that she was not exactly well practiced. It wasn't long before she saw Eris too had been taken to the dance floor by Vincent Crabbe. Alice was not a fantastic dancer, but she didn't step on any toes and no one seemed displeased with her performance. After all, she was a child and this was her first time at such a function, no one was judging her too much, as far as she could tell.

After a few such dances with young boys around her age, and one dance with an older man who was among those eager to meet the Girl-Who-Lived, Alice stepped away for a break from the activity and found herself at the same kid's corner she had found before, though a little emptier now that the dancing had begun. After a few minutes of sitting quietly, though, a few parents were coming over and admonishing their children for trying to worm out the social pressures of their family names, pushing them slowly out of the corner.

Alice was lightly amused at seeing the children corralled off and forced to go be miniature adults in polite society, and felt rather glad she had no one attempting to pressure her into further niceties. But then the corner started to fill with a new sort of people, and while they didn't know it, Alice knew every single Death Eater by heart, and she knew when she was surrounded by them.

They took up the tables around her and pretended it wasn't on purpose, but they weren't hiding their curious glances as well as they liked to think they had. The Carrow family of Amycus, his sister Alecto and his wife were particularly easy to notice as they craned their heads in her direction. She didn't know what they were expecting from her, but Alice didn't take any opportunities to flee. It was rather hard to be intimidated by them when she had memories of them kneeling before Tom and shaking in fear when he was angry, despite knowing their numerous list of crimes.

"At least he's enjoying himself," came a voice nearby, and it was easy to tell Lucius Malfoy out from the rest of the crowd.

"But that Parkinson girl wouldn't be my first choice," said a woman, who she could guess was Narcissa Malfoy.

"He'll develop better taste when he's older," assured her husband.

"I suppose your right," Narcissa Malfoy relented, bringing that conversation to a halt. The voices of the two had only gotten closer and closer as they casually made their way to their target, and Alice knew she was the target as the youngest Black sister glanced her way and her face lit up in false pleasant surprise. "Ah, Lady Potter, we were hoping for a chance to speak with you more."

Alice had no doubt, and apparently a lot of people wanted to hear them talking by the way several surrounding Ex-Death Eaters perked up as though this were what they were waiting for. If Alice had to guess, they had decided to get a better measure of what sort of girl she was besides relying on second hand information from their offspring. "It seems I am rather popular today, it seems a lot of people have wanted to talk to me."

"Fame has a tendency to attract attention," noted Lucius.

"I think I'd rather be famous for more than mere survival in future," mused Alice. "At least this is good practice for when I do something worth the adulation of the masses. Anyways, what would you like to speak to me about, Lord and Lady Malfoy?"

"Ever since you've befriended my niece, I've been looking forward to get to know you better," said the Lady of the house. Apparently in their strategizing for this meeting, they had decided Narcissa would be the face put forward for their light interrogation. "After all, you've been such a mystery before entering Hogwarts, and there's only so much children will tell their parents in letters. I only know that you do well in school and were raised by muggles."

"Raised might be overstating the role of those muggles in my life," she noted with a hint of anger at the thought. "Allowed to live and learned to respect and obey would be more accurate." There were a pair of raised eyebrows at that, which caused Alice to smile. "My relatives need a firm hand to remember why they were so afraid of magic in the first place."

Lucius frowned. "So that much is true then," he said. "Magic-hating muggles, what was Dumbledore thinking."

"Probably something along the lines of 'better than a Malfoy'," mused Alice out loud, causing Lucius' mouth to twitch into a deeper frown for only a fraction of a second. He had apparently gotten even better at controlling his shows of emotion over the years. "Both you and the Tonks family had the next best claim to become my guardians, and he was probably afraid it would go to you even with your troubles at the time. It makes sense from his perspective, I'm sure. When I heard Eris think it was some attempt to brainwash me with pro-muggle ideas, I think if that was the idea then it backfired rather spectacularly." Alice gave a glance to make sure no non-Death Eater had entered hearing range. "Since I am fairly far from a muggle lover, myself."

"Well, I'm sorry you missed the opportunity to be part of our family," Narcissa put in while Lucius seemed to take in that information. "No matter what fears Dumbledore had, you would have been perfectly safe with us, and raised properly."

"Probably, but best not to think too much on the could-have-been," Alice supplied. "I prefer to focus on the what is and what can be. I am back in our world and learning quickly, and I have a good set of friends that will help me on the path to a greater future, like Eris."

"Yes," said Narcissa, and there seemed to be a momentarily real smile there. Seemed Eris was well liked by her aunt, and if it wasn't for the surrounding Death Eaters, she might have thought this whole talk was purely about if she was the right sort to associate with a family member. She had a feeling there was going to be a bit more to it than that. "Which brings us to another member of your little group we've heard about. Not often a lion joins a group of Slytherins."

Ah, that must have been a high concern for the blood purists. As far as Alice was able to discern, a few of the Death Eater families knew exactly who Eris' father really was, which was why her associating with a 'mudblood' was a group wide concern. Perhaps they were already trying to shape her into the next coming of Voldemort and didn't want to see her stray from that path by getting strange ideas from a muggle raised Girl-Who-Lived. Wondered if she should consider carefully or knock them upside the head with her own philosophy on the matter.

While she could inspire thought in the minds of the young easily enough, adults would be more set in their ways, especially Tom's Death Eaters, who had suffered punishments from straying from the way he wanted them to think. Even after a decade without him, the words of the Dark Lord and their own parents would be hard to break. But she couldn't allow them to think they could push her around, either, and make her think what they thought.

"Yes, Hermione Granger, my little pet project," she mused with a hint of delight. "Brightest witch in Gryffindor since my mother, according to the Professors. She memorized all the textbooks by heart before school even started, you know. I thought that was just an empty boast at first, but quickly found out it was true. The girl simply consumes books, and won't drop a good one until she could recite it front to back from memory. It's quite impressive.

"She has her problems, of course. Being smart for her age ostracized her from muggle children a bit, so she isn't the best when it comes to social graces, but she learns quickly enough. Horrible amounts of trust in authority figures and books, and she has trouble believing things if she can't check your sources, but I'm working on her. By the time she's out of school, she'll be a force to be reckoned with, and she's got a good sense of loyalty already."

The Malfoy parents both looked at each other, and seemed to have a whole conversation to themselves in just a few glances. It was a rare thing in pureblood marriages to be so in sync and clearly good for each other, but it was likely one of the things that made the Malfoys such a power since they didn't share the pureblood past time of dealing with each other as viciously as they dealt with other people.

"And what do you plan to do with her? There won't be many uses for even a talented and well trained Muggleborn later," said Lucius, deciding it would be better if he was the one who played the bigot card now.

Least Draco had warned them off of using the other term he would have likely preferred. "Did you ever wonder how the Dark Lord fell?" she asked, throwing both of the Malfoys off with the apparent shift in topic to the greatest mystery in the world. "I haven't told anyone this, but I actually have a rather fantastic memory myself. I know exactly what happened that night."

The Death Eaters now completely stopped pretending to not be listening to her every word, but she didn't so much as glance around. "My father died first," she stated. "Buying us only of seconds of time. We couldn't escape, so my mother enacted a plan. Needless to say, my understanding of how she did what she did is not complete, but it's easy to see the results. I alone am the only person who ever got my view of a certain pretty green light and survived, and it was not because I was special.

"It was because my mother powered the single greatest modern feat of magic by sacrificing herself for me, using her own death to power it. From what I've been able to gleam, if it had been a Death Curse, it should have only resulted in also killing the Dark Lord, but instead it also resulted in my continued existence.

"The greatest witch who ever win, the only person known to every completely counter the Killing Curse, was a muggleborn. So why wouldn't I want to cultivate the next great muggleborn witch and add her power to my own?"

"There are certain dangers in Muggleborns," said Narcissa. "While a few good examples here and there might exist, there's more an issue with successive generations from them. Diluting the bloodlines with muggle blood could weaken the magical world in the long run."

Alice could have laughed at the Lady Malfoy's attempt to make that sound like a reasonable argument. "I've heard those fears, and I suppose I must ask the same question I asked your niece when she brought up such a theory. Do you think magic is so weak that muggles can smother it out of us with their blood?"

Narcissa stared in shock at that assertion. Lucius looked ready to argue, but with a glance to make sure it was still only Death Eaters around, Alice decided to continue. "Muggleborns are, as far as we can tell, mostly if not always descended from squib lines. While our world has come under the belief that Muggleborns are like muggles who have stolen our power, I would push forward the idea that Muggleborns are more proof that Muggle blood cannot suppress our power, and that the Squib condition can be overcome and cured, if not by the squibs then by successive generations of their descendents.

"The only reason our society perceives Muggleborns as a threat is because they are an extension of a pre-existing fear of Muggles that we have allowed to pervade our society for too long."

"No proper wizard would ever fear a muggle," said Lucius vehemently.

"Our entire society as it stands today is based on the fear of Muggles," said Alice. "When the Statute of Secrecy began, it was after hundreds of years of witch hunts. Muggles outnumbered witches and wizards by a factor of a thousand to one. But in hiding, our fear has only grown, and we have increased our disadvantages. The muggle numbers have swelled to nearly four thousand to one against us, and they have advanced their technology.

"But I will not believe that a muggle's blood will ever be capable of destroying our magical bloodlines. Magic is Might, and every muggleborn is proof that they cannot suppress our magic as long as our bloodlines survive. That being said, one thing we should concentrate our efforts on as a society is finding out how Squibs happen in the first place. Every sign exists that magic is still in their blood, but little research has been done to find out why that magic becomes suppressed, and more importantly, how to fix it.

"Feel free to disagree, but that is my stance. I will not waste time and energy pushing down my fellow witches and wizards when there are greater problems our world is facing, such as the dominance of muggles over the world today."

She gave the slightest glance around, and could see most Death Eaters were simply frowning, or even glaring at her. But a few of the smarter ones were looking thoughtful. The Malfoys however were keeping their faces carefully blank, which meant they were likely thinking about what she had said as well. It wasn't likely to bear fruit, but maybe some thinking would do them some good.

"That's certainly a unique perspective," said Narcissa politely, meaning her initial stance was it was wrong, but she didn't have any smart way to prove it at the moment. "Though squibs tend to-"

"Happen more often in pureblood families, despite how often they try to pretend such people were never born," supplied Alice, though the fact seems to surprise Narcissa. "The Blacks had a few squibs of course, and they were proven to have no muggle influence in their blood for at least a thousand years. It really is a problem I have researched quite thoroughly, but there have only ever been small investigations into a cure for squibs. That is something I plan to work on, but then, I have a lot of things I plan to work on. I am quite ambitious that way. There's a reason I'm in Slytherin, after all." She smiled.

Conversation soon faded off after that as the Malfoys excused themselves from the table and went off to mingle elsewhere. The Death Eaters broke rank and spread back into the ball as well. That hadn't exactly gone well, but she wouldn't be sure where she sat with the lot of them for a while yet. She had given them two conflicting ideas of who she was, a champion of Muggleborns like Dumbledore, but also rather anti-muggle which was closer to their own ideals.

If she were lucky, the smarter ones would at least start looking into the ideas she put forth, but she wouldn't hold her breath on winning many allies with this one. Still, the ball itself had otherwise successfully shown Alice Potter off to the world that adored her, and made a good impression with most people she met. That was some victory.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice had a lot of work to do on Christmas Eve. She had spent a small bit of time visiting with Megan and Olivia, her first minions and friends, but otherwise spent a lot of time preparing her presents. Her Deliria persona was busy with her gang as Knockturn Alley was changing. She had a lot of new recruits coming into her service, and had decided to reward her already loyal workers with a nice Christmas bonus. Half of them would drink that bonus away fast, but she kept her minions happy.

She had all her gifts for her more personal friends sent off by owl mail, to appear with all their other presents like it had been placed there by her own hands. Tom Riddle and Alice had little experience in the tradition themselves, but she did know how it was supposed to work and joined in. Alice tried to put a lot of thought into the gifts she gave.

Megan Webb had often liked the idea of flying, and so Alice had gotten her a broom of her own. It was not the most useful gift since the girl wouldn't be able to fly anywhere outside of some private locations her mistress could show her, but she was going to love it anyways. Olivia was a little harder to get a good idea on what to get, but she decided to send her an animated model of a dragon. The girl thought dragons being real was simply the coolest thing ever.

Rich girls like Eris would be the absolute worst to shop for, as they had most anything money could buy already, and anything they didn't have they either didn't want or simply weren't that easy to procure with money alone. Alice could have gone in for something more personal, but a lot of the ideas she had for such things would clue Eris into the fact that Alice knew more about her then she was supposed to. Alice had to rack her brains for a while before she remembered a conversation she had had with the girl once, and thought it would make the perfect cover to let the girl learn something interesting. Eris Lestrange would soon become the proud owner of the most thorough biography of the man known to the world today as Herpo the Foul, including a thorough inclusion of his achievements in spells and rituals and theories on his bloodline which was often speculated to eventually include Salazar Slytherin. The girl was likely to learn some interesting things, and Alice hoped she would actually appreciate it.

Lily Moon would receive a more practical gift in an enchanted necklace that would warn when someone was attempting to enter her mind through legilimency. Alice had actually enchanted the necklace herself. Lily Moon had certainly become a friend of some sort, but Alice would forever have to worry about the look the girl had gotten of her souls, and she needed the girl to be cautious with that mind that would be incapable of forgetting what she had seen. There was also a tracking charm that would allow Alice to find her quickly if ever she needed to, but Alice kept that enchantment to herself.

Hermione she knew would simply have to have a book. While Eris had gotten one out of Alice lacking other ideas, Hermione's only problem was that she had too many options for books. As Alice had the girl declared her personal pet project on multiple occasions, the Dark Lady in the making decided to spoil the girl. Three books, one centering on laws of Wizarding Britain with Alice's personal notes on a few injustices Alice thought should be corrected and changed, a history and study of Muggleborns and their treatment over the last thousand years, and last but not least, a history of Dark Magic and the expansion of magics considered dark due solely to Ministry regulations. Alice wanted to shape the young lion's youthful idealism and obsession with the written word into powerful tools, and continue to make it so the girl wouldn't put too much trust in law and authority. She imagined the girl would read them all before she saw her again at Hogwarts.

She decided to include Hagrid in the gift giving experience, and sent him a book on Dragons and how they used to be raised before the heavier regulations on their ownership. He should appreciate that. Her present to Dia was that for some reason Alice still allowed the Diadem to continue to keep it's little soul and took it out to communicate with. 'She' seemed to accept that gift gratefully.

Alice was not sure what to expect when she woke up on Christmas morning in her room at Number 4 Private Drive. She had decided to actually sleep in the house that was supposed to be her home so presents sent to her would be able to reach her properly. Not that she allowed her family to notice. Tom Riddle had created a method of keeping himself hidden from the Trace when he was sixteen, and Alice was able to abuse that power to keep her relatives out of her way and unable to see or hear that she had even returned home.

Christmas had only become something to celebrate after she first befriended Megan, as the girl got her a present every year since becoming her friend, usually giving it to her before Christmas day proper. Olivia had joined in the tradition, but tended to follow Megan's lead on what Alice might like. Megan mostly liked to get her muggle fiction books or videos, usually her favorites, and they used to have a bit of fun while she compared the muggle idea of magic to the real thing.

This year was little different from those two, as Alice found herself the owner of a VHS tape of the Little Mermaid and the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Alice was rather glad this tradition had yet to change. Muggles weren't good for much, with the exception of her minions, but she had developed a taste for their fiction. But these gifts were given to her before the proper holiday. Wizards and witches tended to be better at holding back for the proper day.

Alice found a pile of presents at the foot of her bed, smiling at how far she had come from her time as the friendless Alice Potter. The first gift she took up was a rather heartwarming handmade wooden flute that Hagrid had made herself. She wasn't a flute player, but that he'd put the effort in to make it for her personally made her feel rather happy. Besides, she could probably charm the thing to play itself if she didn't want to put in the effort of learning to play it herself.

Eris, Lily and Hermione had all thought to get her books, which was not entirely surprising given her claims to read rather often (and she really could enjoy a few interesting books, but most especially if they had something really new for her to experience). It was an image Alice was comfortable perpetuating in her own choice of gifts.

Hermione had gifted her with a volume about defensive magical charms, which Alice sadly already knew most of the magic in it. Eris had similar procured a book for her on Dark Magic and ways around certain legal limitations, but Eris knew most of that information, too. It was the thought that counted, and it would not hurt to practice a few things by running through such books. After all, she might have Tom's memories, but she lacked most of his power and some of his control. The troll incident had proven that she still needed to work on understanding the limits of her age and finding better ways to surpass them then overexerting herself when things got hectic.

Lily Moon, however, had decided she would apologize for her soulgazing by offering an incredibly banned book on it and similarly illegal magical practices. The book held the title of Ancient Arts and Practices, whose anonymous author claimed to be an objector the Ministry policy of the banning of certain forms of magic. Now, Lily did send a note that listed a few things found in the book that she did not recommend trying, as well as caution when doing almost anything else found in the book. Alice conceded she had a point in not recommending a demon summoning ritual that was only detailed at the end of the book and ended with the author claiming they were performing it now just before the book ended.

Voldemort had played around with a few demons before, and Alice knew to be careful with that kind of thing. Tom might play fast and loose with his soul, but Alice treated her own with a bit more care, thank you very much.

Needless to say, this book became an instant treasure to a girl who had inherited the Dark Lord's desire to collect knowledge and increase in personal power at any given opportunity, and ancient arts that were rarely practiced anymore due to being illegal under the Ministry were especially enticing for her.

But there was one more package among the others that did not seem to come from anyone she knew. She looked at the note that came with it, and her suspicions raised high. "Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you." It was unsigned.

Alice eyed the package with suspicion before brushing her wand over her head. Sparks signified interference between her and the Trace, and allowed her to swiftly run a few detection charms over the package, and she quickly summoned the locket to help detect if there was anything that could cause her harm within. She detected nothing of the sort, and unwrapped it.

Inside was a cloak that was bigger than her body, made of a soft silky silvery material that felt almost like liquid in her hands. If this cloak really did belong to her father, then it must be the Peverell Cloak. She had remembered the cloak was some sort of heirloom, which made the cloak incredibly old if it was from the time of the Peverell family.

As she felt it in her hands, a small smile came to her face. She had so little to remember her father by, save the memories she had of him from the war. Brave and foolish, he died buying her mother only seconds of extra time. Her actions that day and reputation she learned of later quickly endered Lily Potter as her favorite parent, but James was still her father and warm feelings came over her as she conjured full length mirror and throw the cloak over herself just to see how it looked.

That was when the shock hit. The cloak rendered her invisible, save her head until she through the hood up over her head. Circe hooted from her post by the window. "An invsibility cloak, Circe," she whispered with awe. While there were various methods Voldemort had known to become invisible, none were as reliable as an invisibility cloak, and this one must be reliable because… Because…

"That's not possible," she told herself as she took the cloak off to stare at it. This cloak was possibly near a thousand years old. And that made it utterly impossible for it to be an invisibility cloak. Invisibility Cloaks were made from animal hairs of creatures that could turn invisible, but eventually the enchantments died off. Once a cloak faded to visible, it was just a cloak. Only the best made cloaks could last so much as a couple decades with infrequent use.

It could also be said that the cloak was utterly pristine. There was not a single tear or blemish on the thing, not in all it's years of use. And now that she was looking at it, she could remember that it had definitely seen use. Peter Pettigrew had mentioned James Potter had the cloak when Voldemort was interrogating him for all his enemies strengths and weaknesses. They used to use it all the time at Hogwarts, he said.

This cloak, if it was truly as old and apparently hard to tarnish as Alice thought it might be, was an ancient artifact that would rival even the lost artifacts of the founders or the legendary sword Excalibur, or any of a number of the most powerful and legendary magical artifacts in their world. Alice was in awe.

And now it belonged to her.

That how James Potter became the favorite parent for a day.


	18. Chapter 18 - The New Year

**Chapter 18**

 **The New Year**

Sirius Black had not had a very happy Christmas, as he had not had one for the past decade. Sometimes, he forgot it had been a decade since he had been sent to this personal hell. It was a hell he felt he deserved sometimes, for failing James and Lily so badly and for letting that little rat get away, but he knew that he didn't really belong here. Sometimes he felt that no one really belonged here, but then Bella would spout off some propaganda about her Dark Lord coming back any day now and he remembered that a few monster really had earned their place in hell.

And then he went back to thinking he must deserve it too, for not one person seemed to believe he hadn't done what Wormtail had actually done. Perhaps he had simply gone crazy and imagined Peter had been the betrayer instead. But then when the thought that his friend might not have betrayed them threatened to become even slightly optimistic, the Dementors had snapped it down again with their foul presence and bitter reality was all that remained.

New Years was starting to feel as bleak as Christmas, which was about as bleak as every other day he spent in this dark cell, when something different happened. He felt the Dementor's hopeless aura fall away, and he heard people coming. He decided to stand stiffly up and look out the little bars that made the only window to the great metal door that had him contained.

Three men were walking towards him, and while two of them flanking the third looked to be the human guards that were assigned to keep an eye on Azkaban, the middle man looked like some sort of Ministry worker. He had with him some paper, a quill and an ink well.

They came up to his door and stopped, surprising him. "Lord Black," said the man in the middle, who looked like he didn't really want to be here but was trying to act professional anyways.

"Yes?" he croaked, his voice not quite used to speaking more then to yell at his crazy cousin and her locked up friends to shut the hell up on occasion. He hadn't known he was a Lord, and had assumed he'd never be after running away from the family. Apparently ArcturusBlack had still left him in the will, which was surprising. He wondered when the when his grandfather had died.

"You have been sent mail from your heir," said the man, timidly lifting up a letter towards the bars. "You are legally allowed to respond to her after reading it."

Sirius didn't know he had an heir, and thought back to the will he had made in the last year of the war. It had been a rather simple will, leaving everything he owned to James, Lily and… "Alice?" he mumbled. The greyed out parts of his mind that Dementors usually obfuscated if he wasn't in his dog form started to clear as memories of a beautiful, bright and happy baby girl came flooding back. Those flashes of happy memories sometimes hurt worse than being overwhelmed with the horrible ones.

He took the letter through the bars and began to read it.

 _Dear Lord Sirius Black,_

 _Allow me to be the first person in a long time to wish you a Happy Christmas, though I know it's an empty wish under the circumstances. You will no doubt be quite surprised to finally have mail after all these years. I am afraid to say it is the only Christmas present I am legally able to send to you at the moment. You see, you're rather simplified will that leaves everything you own to me has technically made me your heir, and I've discovered there are certain rights that I have in order to be able to write to you. In case you don't know the letter of the law, as I didn't until looking it up._

 _As your heir, I can send you mail at any time, which must be checked over by Ministry officials for coded messages before being passed back to you. You also have the right to respond to my mail, or freely write to me. The guards are legally required to fetch you quill and paper when requested as long as it is for speaking to your heir in your official capacity as Lord Black. While writing, Dementors cannot be nearby as they would interfere with your ability to conduct this house business. I hope the reprieve brings some small comfort._

 _You might be wondering why I would write to the 'betrayer' of my parents. Well, simply put, I know you aren't the traitor. I know who was. When I first heard about you, I was told by the goblins that little story that I know to be fiction. Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater. Now, while I know this, I have absolutely no way to prove it, and if I try to get you a trial, there will be a lot of resistance. It's a problem I have been trying to work on since I heard you were in prison._

 _On the one hand, Lucius Malfoy does not know that his son is not in the line of succession for your title, and will thus attempt to block any possibility of your release whether he thinks you are a fellow Death Eater or not, and he has plenty of support. On the other half of the board, most people who think you are a Death Eater will think if you went to trial, you would claim the Imperius Defense and walk out free. They genuinely believe they would be doing the right thing by keeping you locked away, and there is no proof to convince them otherwise._

 _I'm afraid I am at a loss as to how to get you out of there legally. But upon learning this rule, I discovered there is one possible hope and that is in hearing from you. I don't know if you know anything that could help, but if you know of some evidence of Peter Pettigrew's betrayal, I would appreciate it if you could write it to me. The muggles that apparently died in the crossfire of your execution of the man will be harder to get through, but I might be able to shrink the sentence for those to time served for the circumstances. It will cost you compensation for wrongful imprisonment, but it's not like you'll be hurting for money once we get you out._

 _One way or another I will get you out. That's a promise. No loyal friend of the family is staying in that disgraceful hell Britain dares to use as a prison._

 _Now, as I imagine you might be curious about me, I thought I should begin with the basics. I'm eleven years old now and have started my first year at Hogwarts. I was sorted into Slytherin. I think I disappointed the Gryffindors by not following in my parents footsteps, but I hear my grandmother was in Slytherin, so I'm alright with that. I'm doing rather well in my classes so far. I found out that I rather like flying, and I'm told my father was pretty good on a broom himself. Perhaps you could tell me more about that?_

 _My favorite color is green, and my favorite class at the moment Charms, though I think I'd like Defense against the Dark Arts if it just had a better teacher. Quirrel is awful, and he stutters constantly. Feel free to ask questions about me in your letters._

 _Your goddaughter and heir,_

 _Lady Alice Lily Potter_

Sirius wept openly as he read the letter. Not only had his goddaughter decided to write to him, somehow she knew he was innocent. That someone believed he was innocent made his heart tremble from long lost warmth and hope surging back into it. Sure, she also believed that he could have accidentally killed muggles in the crossfire of a duel, but under the circumstances that was a reasonable idea, but he would tell her the whole story soon enough.

It was the best Christmas gift he could ever remember getting, even if it had apparently been delayed by Ministry officials checking it for whatever they were checking it for. He looked back out to the men who had been waiting for him. "I'd like to write my reply, please."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The New Year had started off well for Alice, as the new Knockturn Triumvirate had officially crushed all competition and crime had officially become organized again. The three divisions came to form as the Delirium Gang, the Grim Gang and the Bonebreaker Boys, each with their own division of labor, but sharing in profits and territory and coordinating their efforts. It had quickly become stable.

Officially, an alliance of Knockturn Alley business had come together to form the Knockturn Alley Consortium where every business owner in Knockturn Alley could contribute to how the Alley was run. Unofficially, the Triumvirate owned the consortium and turned it's protection racket into 'membership fees'. Anyone who didn't play ball would quickly find themselves harassed and out of business. People gave in quickly.

On the negative end of things, Deliria Lovedoll technically came up as the weaker of the trinity. Killing a man during negotiations made a good showing as a real power player, but it did not make strangers eager to sign up to work for her. She still had less manpower then Grimly and Bagman, but that didn't matter too much to her at the moment. That being said, she did have a large increase of personnel, and her experienced employees would show the rookies the ropes.

One other bit of bad news was that the DMLE had begun to notice the sudden shift in power, and the Knockturn Triumvirate was on the map for suspicious organizations, but as long as they hid behind supposedly legal businesses there wouldn't be any big steps like raids or increased Hitwizard and Auror patrols. It was all just suspicion, and the beginning of very quiet investigations into this new organized crime gang.

Alice knew without competing against each other, business was going to start doing well, and with her being able to share ideas and help shape this growing criminal empire, Knockturn Alley was going to look quite different by the time her first year at Hogwarts ended.

Now she merely had to deal with going back to school after the break ended. That wasn't too disappointing, since she would meet back with her friends and exchange thankful words for each other's gifts. But classes were going to feel very dull after taking such a big step in her other persona's career as a magical mob boss.

After getting used to the routine for a couple of days, a letter arrived for her on one breakfast morning, not delivered by her Circe, but instead by a ministry owl.

"Ah, he wrote back," she murmured, causing her fellow Slytherins to turn to her in interest as she opened the letter.

After a moment of reading she felt herself stiffen.

"What's the bad news?" said Eris, and despite her calm tone, Alice realized she must have gotten a terrifyingly angry expression on her face.

"Something I thought has just been disproven," she said mysteriously as she brought her face back into a calm fascade as she found her eyes locked on one sentence of Sirius Black's reply to her in particular.

 _"The Rat is still alive."_

And Alice had no idea how to find a man she had assumed was dead.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice was grateful awakening the Horcrux in her head when she was seven, because she felt if she had been left as being only Alice Potter she would have been in for a rather terrible life. Trapped with the Dursleys, godfather wrongfully imprisoned, betrayer of her parents out there in the world somewhere, and who knows what other problems being a more timid and helpless Girl-Who-Lived would have gotten.

As there were little she could do for the problems of her Potter side, she had to find some joys of her Dark Lady side to distract her. She began to work on her project of acquiring the Philosopher's Stone in earnest. Hagrid's flute and her wondrous invisibility cloak allowed her to put Fluffy right to sleep and take a look down the trap door without being seen. What she saw was an assortment of dangerous plants.

She knew she could probably take them out, but while the Devil's Snare would grow back quickly, everything else would not, and it would be a sure sign of someone attempting to steal the stone if checked back on. She knew there would be further defenses within, but she could not scout them out at the moment. She knew which teachers were in charge of defending the stone, but none of them would be quite so easy to get information out of as Hagrid.

Well, perhaps Quirrel would. The man was dreadfully fearful, and while he seemed a touch paranoid about dark creatures, he was not likely to have the mental discipline for Occlumensy. With that plan in mind, Alice left the third floor corridor alone for a little while longer.

The next distraction she took on she decided she would finally look into saying hello to the family pet. With the invisibility cloak it was easy to sneak out at night again and go to the bathroom. Despite Dia's protests, she was taken along, as Alice still felt it would be safer to have her there instead of tucked away in her trunk.

"Please don't let her destroy me," begged the Diadem, and Alice thought Dia might be a little more dramatically terrified of death then their father was.

"She's not going to destroy you," said Alice soothingly. "You are technically as much an heir of Slytherin as I am, even if you don't have a mouth to speak to her directly."

"She seemed rather against father's plan to use certain artifacts as Horcruxes, as I recall," replied the Diadem. "She might listen to us, but Basilisks are intelligent enough to resist the commands of a Parseltongue, I think."

"Are they?" said Alice. "She seemed pretty obedient from Tom's memories."

"Four petrifications and one kill," said the Diadem. "That can't be a coincidence."

Alice thought about it, and supposed the enhanced wisdom allowed Dia to reason a little better then Tom had. He just thought it was poor luck. "I suppose, but she did kill for him eventually. Weird, I remember her being rather eager for a kill."

"She wanted to kill great beasts or entire villages, not students," said Dia. "She was put there for bigger threats then students going about their classes. But when she did kill, it was with father standing right there. She's probably compelled to obey, but I remember the only time father used the word kill rather than attack was with Warren."

Alice's memories, while fairly sharp, were not quite that sharp. "Well, don't worry, if she's pissed off at you, I suppose I can keep you a little longer." Alice had no idea how Dia could get her to agree to things like that without directly influencing her mind. She acted like the little sister that needed protection and somehow Alice gave in.

It didn't help that Alice kept realizing she had begun to think of Dia Riddle-Ravenclaw as a sister. She honestly hoped the other Horcruxes did not develop similar self-perceptions, as the Riddle family was strange enough right now as it was.

"I'd feel safer if you'd wear me."

"Dream on, sis."

For example, they were so odd that attempts to possess her were seen as weirdly endearing. Alice really needed to figure out what she was doing with Dia before the year was done.

Alice came invisibly into the Bathroom and opened the entrance. "~Greatness awaits.~" This password activated a metallic disk that appaeared. She stepped on it and it began to slide down the pipe with her on it, rather like a muggle elevator now that she thought about it. Of course, the first time he found this place, Tom had been forced to take a broom down here, only to be informed that the same Gaunt who had hidden the entrance in a girl's bathroom that was being built over it had created this feature Alice got to enjoy from the beginning.

She got to the winding tunnel before reaching and opening the real tunnel. She came up to the large statue, her wand letting the walls so it was a little brighter. "~Speak to me, Salazar, greatest of the Hogwarts Four.~" It had taken a while for Tom to figure out that one, but he had appreciated his ancestor's shared inflated ego.

Alice closed her eyes as the great Serpent of Slytherin slid out of the mouth of the statue. "~So hungry,~" hissed the serpent. "~I hope you have brought something good to eat, young heir.~" It was still surprisingly quick as it slithered close, and Alice could feel it's breath on her.

"~I have, but I would appriaciate it if you closed your eyes so I can open mine to give it to you.~"

"~I obey, little speaker,~" replied the great serpent. Even to a Parseltongue, the creature sounded rather menacing and intimidating. Alice opened her eyes and took a look at the massive green snake. Unlike most snakes, Basilisks had eye lids. She wondered if Salazar had bred her with that or if they had been that way back when Herpo bred the first Basilisk. She was rather big, bigger then Alice remembered from Tom's memories, but then, Alice was younger then Tom had been, and was even a touch short for her age.

Alice pulled a rock out of her pocket and tossed it on the ground. With a wave of her wand she reversed the transfiguration and the rock became a cow that seemed confused and rightfully afraid. Alice had picked up a few such creatures from some muggle farm before she boarded the train back to Hogwarts just for the family pet. Tom had not been quite so good about feeding her properly.

Alice closed her eyes. "~I hope you like it,~" she hissed, and then she heard a rather terrifying noise that didn't apparently translate quite right in her brain, because it sounded like something between a roar and a girlish squeal of delight to her Parselmouth sense of hearing, and that sounded utterly bizarre.

There was a rather horrifying sound of a terrified moo and a loud snap and crunch. The mooing died down quickly after that but the sounds of an eating basilisk would remain, and Alice was both fascinated and slightly intimidated. Only slightly, she was quite sure. Strangely, she recalled Tom being more fearless in the face of this creature, but perhaps Dia's words of wisdom had shaken Alice's idea that she was completely safe around this monster.

It was wise to fear and respect the thousand year old Basilisk, who when she was finished eating seemed to curl around Alice and surround her with the massive long form, getting face to face again. It's breath now smelled of death though she dare not open her eyes to see the gore for fear of meeting her gaze.

"~I appreciate the gift, little speaker,~" said the Serpent of Slytherin. "~It has been a long time since I've been properly fed by an heir. Now, do you know how to claim the Chamber?~"

Tom had not originally, and the Serpent had to explain what to do. Alice didn't have that problem. "~I am Lady Alice Lily Marvolo Potter Riddle, spiritual daughter of Tom Marvolo Riddle, and I declare myself a true Heir of Slytherin and claim the Chamber of Secrets as sanctuary.~"

"~Welcome home, daughter of the House of Slytherin,~" came a voice from what she knew was the statue that was great and loud, echoing over the whole chamber.

"~The Chamber recognizes you, and the Keeper of Secrets and Guardian of Hogwarts shall serve and protect you. But tell me, daughter of Voldemort, what mean you by claiming to be his offspring in spirit but not in blood?~"

Alice let out a breath. The Serpent had already accepted her, so she felt she had nothing to fear from revealing her unorthodox origins of how she came into the family. "~I was born as Alice Lily Potter, when Voldemort came to kill me as a baby for fear of a prophecy that I would have the power to defeat him. In his haste to end the threat, he fulfilled his own prophecy and the confluence of magical events that resulted in my survival and his death also bestowed his soul into mine. I have inherited his gift of Parseltongue, memories and skills, though I am still my own being, and I do not consider myself to be him any longer.~"

The serpent growled. "~Foolish boy, how destabilized was his soul… I knew he meant to make more, but I told him he should stop at two, even three would have been overdoing it.~"

"~He meant to make a sixth with my murder, and in so doing never completed his desired goal of seven pieces of soul. I have further reabsorbed one of his Horcruxes into my being, and have reclaimed our heirloom, the Locket of Slytherin, back into my possession.~"

The serpent hissed with rage. "~He defiled the Locket of my parents?~" Alice could not help but flinch. She had no idea how Tom had never found this creature intimidating. It might claim servitude, but it would be so easy for the creature to snap her head off before Alice could so much as scream. There were not a lot of things that could make the young Riddle humble, but the Serpent of Slytherin was quickly shooting to the top of her list.

"~I have cleansed it,~" she tried to soothe, summoning the Locket to her neck and lifting it up to show the serpent. "~I ask forgiveness for my father's transgressions.~" Dia's fear of peeving the serpent off was making more and more sense with every passing moment.

"~Fear not, little speaker, you've done no wrong by our house.~" She sniffed at the Locket. "~I am merely angered that my previous charge was so arrogant and careless. But in the end I suppose it has merely added to the enchantments already there. What other treasures did he claim to house his soul after his Diary?~"

Dia shook slightly in Alice's hand, obviously frightened. "~The Ring of the House of Gaunt, the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff and the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.~"

The snake growled irritably. "~My aunts would not have liked that. I do hope you cleanse them as well, little speaker.~"

"~That has been my plan,~" Alice stated warily. "~But there is a slight snag I have come upon with the second retrieved Horcrux of my father.~" Dia protested when she was raised up. "~The enchantments of the Diadem of Ravenclaw have apparently changed the soul fragment within enough for her to perceive herself as separate from our father as I am. I present my sister, Dia Riddle-Ravenclaw.~"

The serpent breathed loudly and it did not seem to be a happy sound. But then the statue of Salazar Slytherin spoke again. "~Welcome home, Daughter of the House of Slytherin.~" Alice was rather surprised that had been enough for Dia to actually be considered part of the family, at least by the Chamber.

The snake seemed to sigh, though the sound was harsher then any human sigh Alice had ever heard. "~I suppose the Chamber recognizes you, and the Keeper of Secrets and Guardian of Hogwarts shall serve and protect you.~" For some reason, Alice felt as though the beast was rolling her eyes as she spoke. "~I suppose there are going to be a lot of Heirs to serve now.~"

"~Well, at least Dia is at the moment rather mute if you don't touch her, so you should only be hearing from me for now,~" Alice soothed. "~And I think I will treat the other Horcruxes on a case by case basis. It seems to me Dia's identity may be unique to the enchantments of her… 'body'. I would prefer to not leave them out in the world to cause me trouble in future. There is also a blood daughter of my father in this castle, but she knows not my identity or the location of this chamber yet. You'll probably be meeting her one day soon.~"

"~I feared the line would go extinct with the last, I am pleased to hear the House has instead grown,~" said the Serpent. "~What plans have you in this Chamber, little speaker?~

"~I suppose I have mostly come to great you, and to have a safer place to keep my sister then my dormitory. I will not be sending you off after students, as I disagree with my father's ideals on such things. For the most part, I would just like to share in your secrets. Tom had only a couple years with you, while I have seven to know you better.~"

"~Good,~" said the Serpent cheerfully, though cheer sounded quite strange with that scary voice of hers. "~I think I am beginning to like you, little speaker. Not so arrogant as your father, and far more generous with your gifts. I have never liked attacking children that I should be protecting.~"

"~I rather thought you were put here to stop the threat of the muggleborns,~" said Alice hesitantly.

"~Only should their loyalties fall to the Witch Hunters,~" replied the snake with a dangerous tone, which was somehow more dangerous than her normal tone already sounded. "~I've seen no such signs that they have. The worries of my father have gone unfounded, despite how much his descendants seem to think they have.~"

Well, that was an interesting perspective to history, only if they betrayed other witches and wizards. That was not how people remembered Salazar's views anymore. "~I would love to hear more. But for now it would be best if I put my sister away and returned to bed.~"

"~May I make a request to not be sent off to bed myself, little speaker? It has been ages since I have been able to freely explore my domain.~"

Alice was wary of allowing the giant killer snake to roam free throughout the castle and grounds, but she didn't really want to tell the monster no at this very moment. "~As long as you are careful not be seen by anything intelligent enough to report you, I suppose. You have been stuck in here for a long time.~"

Another girlish squeal of delight mixed with a roar sounded. "~You are the best little speaker!~" Alice was almost knocked off her feet as the creature seemed to rub up to her side in a gesture of gratitude before she slithered off.

"She left," said Dia. "That was terrifying. I don't remember how father never found her scary."

"Perhaps his ego alone warded off all fear," mused Alice as she opened her eyes and found the Chamber empty. She moved off to one side of the chamber and opened a passage. There were two such hidden sections of the chamber, the bedchambers and the hidden library. Alice decided it would be best to put Dia in the library.

"Do you have to leave me alone here?" asked the Diadem somberly.

Alice sighed. "I'll come visit soon enough," she promised. The manipulative thing simply wouldn't let her escape.

"It's lonely and dull to be stuck like this," complained the mostly inanimate object that could barely muster the power to so much as shiver. "I wish I had a body, or at least could share yours."

"I've told you time and again I won't trust you in my head, and I trust you with no other heads either. It's not as if I can make you swear an Unbreakable Vow or anything." She had the strangest impression that the Diadem wanted to pout at her.

"We're family," she replied.

"A family of snakes, and I won't forget it no matter how much you beg."

The Diadem was silent as she set it down on the desk of the library. "Please come back soon," she whispered desperately, and Alice understood the desperation. She had her own memories from being trapped in the Locket for years, trapped in the dark with no one to talk to and nothing to do. The feeling of nothingness still haunted her at times. Being a horcrux was a rather horrible experience.

"I will," she promised again before letting it go and making the trip back to the Slytherin Common Room.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

A new routine began to settle itself as Alice devoted the week days to school and friends, the weekend daylight hours to practicing with those friends in an attempt to perfect the Patronus Charm, and weekend nights to the Chamber of Secrets.

After her initial apprehension due to her happy memory being her mother's own self-sacrifice for her, Alice was eventually able to overcome and get consistant with her Patronus. It started merely as a silver mist, but as Alice started to focus more on the positive feeling she had from the memory, the mist started to take solid shape.

The silver doe was the corporeal Patronus the girls ever saw.

"It's beautiful," whispered Hermione in awe.

"I honestly thought your Patronus would be a snake," mused Lily. She had just barely managed to make mist herself at this point, and Eris was still unable to achieve even that, much to her frustration.

"While it's theorized that most Patroni represent our inner selves, it's also thought that the memory used could influence it instead. I think this represents my mother more than it does me…" Alice stared at the Doe, holding onto that memory.

"What are you doing differently to give it form like that?" asked Hermione curiously, her awe giving way to her academic needs.

"You've got to concentrate on the positive feelings, the joy, and separate it utterly from any negative feelings that might also be attached to the memory your using," instructed Alice. "Then push that positive energy into reality with your magic." The doe brushed Alice's wand arm gently before fading away, and the rush of positivity faded with her. "Now I just need to work on making that concentration second nature, I suppose. Wouldn't want it fading out like that if a Dementor was right in front of me."

"There's nothing negative about my memory though," said Lily.

"In your case it might be that the memory still isn't quite strong enough. I'm still not sure what to do about that, to be honest. It might help Hermione tho-"

"Expecto Patronum!" shouted Hermione Granger, and from her wand bursted out a long thin silver create with great wings that hissed genially in joyous rapture.

Alice blinked at the Occamy Patronus in surprise. "You see, that's closer to what I expected your Patronus to turn out, Alice," said Lily thoughtfully. Eris twitched in irritation at further success for her companions that was leaving her far behind.

"A winged snake does seem like it represents you, funnily enough," said Hermione thoughtfully, while maintaining a wide smile at her success. The winged serpent flew around her and coiled, and was not quite so fast to disappear. It appeared Hermione had better concentration then Alice did.

"Alright, fine, you two have done it, maybe we can work on something else now," said Eris, trying to keep her voice calm.

Alice and Hermione looked at each other guiltily. When she started this project, she hadn't expected how frustrating it would be for anyone who wasn't going quite as fast as they were. "You're right, we really should be working on more than just one charm all the time," said Alice, thinking about other things that might be useful for the girl's to learn.

"Hey, Hermione, remember that spell I used to cut off the Troll's hand?" she asked. "Would you all be interested in learning that?"

A rather disturbingly Tom Riddle-esque smile crept back onto Eris' face as she nodded. Guardians made of joy might give her trouble, but curses she was sure she could manage. Alice's group of friends were about to jumpstart into being very terrifying witches if they ever got in a fight.

The Serpent of Slytherin was a very different beast from what Alice remembered from Tom's memories. Where Tom remembered a rather serious killer that knew a few secrets and could be a resource to run certain ideas by, Alice experienced the creature as a much more upbeat and energetic creature, who spend much of her time in the Forbidden Forest and liked scaring the spiders half to death. On occasion, fully to death.

It took a few weeks of visits before Alice asked why she was so different around her.

"~Oh, I just didn't like Tom,~" said the serpent. "~He was as bad as some of the last few Gaunts. Treated me like a servant rather than a member of the family. I had to obey, of course, but I never offered him anything without being asked first. He never even so much as asked for my name.~"

Alice felt rather sheepish at that. "~I didn't think you'd have a name. Sorry.~"

"~No problem, little speaker, but it would be polite of you to ask.~" The snake sounded amused.

"~What's your name, oh great Serpent of Slytherin?~" Alice was still treating the great beast with a rather large amount of respect. She always seemed to like it, if the roaring giggles were anything to go by. Maybe one day she'd be able to really relax in the creature's presence.

"~Nyssa Slytherin,~" she replied. "~And as an added bonus for asking, I'll tell you a secret. A Basilisk doesn't just have our eyes set to kill all the time. We can control ourselves. So you don't have to walk around with your eyes closed, little speaker.~"

Alice cautiously opened her eyes and felt her insides shudder at the yellow eyes she met. "~Why… didn't you tell me that earlier?~"

"~Because it's funny to see you humans avoid eye contact so fiercely,~" said the serpent with a roaring giggle. "~I haven't told an heir that for a long time, and you are just so cute when your scared of me. Tom was never that cute.~"

Alice felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment. The snake was teasing her for Morgana's sake! Definitely a very different personality then what she presented to Tom. "~Ah, don't pout little speaker, it's too cute.~" Giggle-roars were going to become common at this rate as Alice only pouted more upon realizing she had been pouting at all.


	19. Chapter 19 - Dragon and Unicorn Troubles

**Chapter 19**

 **Dragon and Unicorn Troubles**

The school year seemed to be going by quickly, and thanks to opening the Chamber of Secrets and training her little group, Alice felt most of her time was well spent. Classes themselves were still dull for her, but she faked interest well enough to not be noticed. It was all too easy to be a darling of the teachers when she was just so good at class. There were only a couple of bizarre incidents that seemed to hint at things not being quite right at the school.

Nyssa had told her that she found a dead Unicorn in the forest, which was rather odd as the animals were too fast for any predators in the forest. Even Nyssa had rarely so much as caught sight of the tail hairs of the creatures and only knew them by small and description until she found the dead one. It didn't really involve her, but Alice was curious what new creature had wandered into the forest that was capable of the feat. As the Keeper of Grounds, she wondered if Hagrid knew something. Knowing him, he might own the creature that could pull that off.

Alice had gotten her group of friends in the habit of going with her when she visited the friendly half giant, despite Lily and Eris being a touch wary of it at first. Eventually the half-giant won them over with his far too open and friendly demeanor, and apparent lack of concern about who Eris' parents were. Apparently Hagrid like to judge people by their own actions and character first, rather than their parents, and Eris appreciated that.

Alice believed Eris thought he wasn't too bad for a commoner. It really was going to be hard to knock some of that Malfoy upbringing out of her, and Alice wasn't sure she would ever be able to fully accept that non-Noble families were quite at her level. Some of that still came from the Black side of her family, after all.

So it was that Alice decided to visit her easy to read but utterly likeable friend with her group and knocked on the hut door. When it opened, the girls were met with a sweltering heat coming from within. "Got something cooking, Hagrid?" asked Alice.

"Oh, it's you four," he said, and the poor man with not any ability to lie or hide anything was trying quite obviously to keep their view of what was going on inside hidden. This could not be a good sign.

"Yes, coming for a visit, sorry to not announce it," said Alice, now curiously attempting to get a look in and see what he was attempting to hide. "We can go if you're busy." Alice looked back up at him and fluttered those beautiful green eyes of her, knowing he'd never be able to send her away quite that easily. He was wonderfully easy to manipulate, and that might honestly be one reason she liked him so much.

"Well, I 'spose you can come in for a quick visit," he relented. "Best get in quick 'fore we let too much heat out." Alice went in quick, while the other three girls gave eachother looks of nervous curiosity as they got a bad feeling about this. The hut was utterly warm, and Alice found herself staring in the fireplace that was roaring. She also glanced at the table and saw the book on dragons she had gotten him was open.

"Enjoying your present still?" she asked.

Hagrid smiled easily. "It's my favorite book I've ever gotten," he said sincerely. "So much useful information in it, too." Useful said far too much about what he was doing, and now Alice waited for the other girls to figure it out.

The girls were quick for children, as all three heads went from the book and then to the fire place, and Hermione, Eris and Lily each began to gape in shock (and maybe a touch of horror) in that order. Alice found the expressions hilarious.

"Hagrid, how did you get a dragon egg?" said Hermione, the brave lion first to jump into the subject while the snakes were too busy trying to plan how to broach the subject at an easier pace.

The half giant looked flustered for a moment and ready to deny, but stopped at Alice's genial smile. "Alrigh', ya got me. I won it in a card game down at the Hog's Head."

"A card game?" Lily said incredulously. The girl was much funnier when she was so shocked she broke out of her usual head in the clouds persona.

"Who on earth would bring a Dragon Egg to Hogsmeade?" muttered Eris with disbelief.

"Dunno, kept his hood up," said Hagrid. "Seemed glad to be rid of it."

"Well, it is technically illegal to have one outside a dragon sanctuary," said Alice, though probably not with the level of severity or admonishment that most people would have had. "He probably meant to sell it and his buyer backed out or something and wanted to get rid of it fast." Alice looked into Hagrid's eyes and slipped into his mind, viewing the memory of the man.

Despite her own theory seeming solid, she couldn't help but feel the man was after something else there instead. He kept asking questions as if he cared about if Hagrid could keep an animal like that, and of course, Hagrid was easy to get answers out of. Curious. Maybe the man was instead someone who had wanted the dragon but figured out fast enough he couldn't keep it and actually wanted to give it a better home as well as get rid of it?

"Well, now we have to figure out how to get rid of it," announced Eris.

"Why would I wanna get rid of it? I've always wanted a dragon." Hagrid was apparently allowing himself to have a willful amnesia towards the information that it was illegal to raise his own dragon.

"Well you can't keep it here, Hagrid," said Hermione gently. "You live in a wooden hut, and you might get in a lot of trouble if a baby dragon burns down your home."

Hagrid actually looked like he hadn't quite thought of that yet, but Alice was finding it hard to be a hypocrite about this. After all, she had a Basilisk in the castle. "We can always help him charm his house to be fireproof," said Eris, and while Hagrid beamed at the offer, her other three friends looked at her like she had gone completely mental.

"Well," and Alice knew she could be delicate or just rush straight in. She decided it would be funnier to rush it. "Hagrid is rather good with animals. It can't be much more dangerous than the Acromantula colony he keeps in the forest, or the Cerberus he keeps in the castle. I think he can handle a single dragon alright."

Alice laughed when all three of the girls sputtered at the revelations of the dangers around them. One day, Alice was going to tell Eris that they had a pet basilisk and it was going to be amazing. This was just the warm up to such things, really. Alice could not leave her friends too scared of creatures if she was ever going to fully open up to them and show off the Chamber of Secrets.

Eris put her head in her hands. "When did I become associated with crazy people," she muttered as she seemed to reinspect her year of schooling with a new clarity.

"But… but… It's illegal," said Hermione, and Alice knew she'd need to keep working on breaking her friend from being such a good law abiding girl even now if when trapped in a corner she still held up a rulebook as her salvation in a crazy world.

"Hermione, we've discussed that, some rules are just stupid," said Alice. Eris and Lily looked like they were prepared to defend this particular rule. "Before these sorts of things were banned, Dragons were trained as guardians of wizarding treasures for centuries, or even beasts of war. As recently as World War One we still used Dragons that way. Just because something can be dangerous doesn't mean it should really be outlawed." Not to mention Hagrid would be an even more useful ally if he had a dragon at his beck and call. This was not all merely a crazy whim, there was some selfishness on Alice's part.

"Alice's right, I can handle it," said Hagrid, patting Alice on the back in thanks for her support. "I've raised all sorts of creatures, and I know what I'm doin', so don't you all worry none, 'right?"

It would take a bit of work to get them to reluctantly drop any ideas of removing the creature from Hagrid, and Alice got them to agree to practice fireproofing charms to help out. None of them were going to rat out poor Hagrid, even by the books Hermione Granger, but it would take a while for them to ever agree that this was a good idea.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Norbert the Dragon was a bit of a handful. Hagrid thought it was a boy, but Alice wasn't entirely sure and wouldn't assume gender until she could tell for sure. What was a vicious little thing, but Hagrid treated it with the care of a newborn human baby. Alice found the whole thing rather humorous, but her friends didn't think it was quite so funny. Alice wondered if getting used to Nyssa had started to color her perceptions of what sorts of animals were really dangerous to be around.

It took a while for Alice to ever learn anything about the unicorns, mostly due to the distraction of the little dragon, but she did eventually learn that while Hagrid knew something was attacking the unicorns, he did not know what it was, and it wasn't apparently any of the creatures he cared for. It was a curious mystery, but one that did not greatly involve her so she let it lay a little longer.

As Norbert started to get bigger, Hermione tried to suggest getting it out of the hut with maybe some sort of enclosure in the forest. Alice thought it was a great idea and volunteered to help. Hagrid had to be talked into letting them come into the forest with him, and Alice had to talk the rest of her friends into joining him, but in the end she convinced them all and thought the experience would be good for them all.

Towards the end of May, Alice and company made their first journey into the Forbidden Forest. Technically it was not against the rules solely because they were accompanying a member of staff, but no one else would be learning of the event if any of them could help it anyways. Alice could admit that Hagrid's crossbow made her slightly more nervous about this journey, but she knew she would not be running into anything more terrifying then Nyssa, and that was her current benchmark for things that could really give her trouble to run into.

Hagrid led them to a clearing rather deep in the forest, and Alice lead them to use magic to help out in setting up the enclosure so Norbert wouldn't be able to get away at least until he or she was of flying age.

"This wasn't quite as bad as I was afraid it would be," noted Hermione when they finished with the work and Hagrid was taking his sweet time telling Norbert his mummy would be back tomorrow.

"I told you," said Alice happily. "We should take more time to explore the Forest when we're older. Apparently my father and his friends used to explore this forest all the time when they were going to school here."

"Maybe in fifth year," Eris said reasonably. "We should know enough magic and have the power to be safe on our own by then." Alice was hoping for earlier, but she had rather clever and cautious friends and she would have to remember to move at their speed at times.

Lily was about to say something when there was a strange sound that came out of the forest, like a loud and distressed whinny of a horse. While the other girls looked around towards the sound curiously, Alice's wand snapped into her hands fast and she moved in front of them quickly. "Hagrid!" she yelled. "I think we just heard a Unicorn in distress!" Her eyes began to sharply study the treeline and her ears pricked to hear more.

Hagrid moved fast for his size, and at her call he hurried up and stood quickly in front of Alice with his crossbow raised. The low sun meant that night would be upon them soon, which was a bad time to meet the mysterious predator that had been hunting down Unicorns. "Keep behind me," Hagrid commanded as he moved forward. "I need to ter find out what's doing this." The girls followed close behind, knowing they were safer with him even if he was potentially moving towards the danger.

They walked for a few minutes towards the sound they had heard, until coming upon a much smaller clearing in the trees, where a unicorn lay, and a cloaked figure was leaning down upon it. Hagrid aimed his crossbow before calling out, "Oi! Turn around slowly." Alice rather wished he had shot first and asked questions later when the figure lifted itself up far too smoothly and then turned far too quickly.

Alice could not see who the wizard was, save a glowing silver blood dripping from his lips that were twisted into a scowling expression. The other thing she saw were his hands, one of which had a wand. "Wand! Scatter!" she called. Hagrid let out the shot as the wizard raised his wand. The crossbow bolt hit an invisible shield.

A green bolt of light went out towards them, and thanks to Alice's call, they got out of the way in time, though it still missed Hagrid only barely. The tree that it hit was now dead and would grow no more leave as long as it stood. 'Silent Killing Curse, point casting,' Alice noted mentally. 'Dangerous.' Alice was herself quite good at casting spells and curses silently, but point casting was generally the pinnacle of Duelists, brute forcing their power rather then going through the ceremony of wand movements that most spells required. It required a strong will that could shape magic without doing so properly.

One reason Lord Voldemort had been such a deadly foe was that he had mastered the ability to point cast the Killing Curse at will with very little effort, and few could stand up to such an assault forever. Only the most skilled witches and wizards were good enough to skillfully work around his brute force assaults.

And now someone else was showing signs of that skill. "Don't hold back!" she said, as she swiped her wand and sent a silent Sectumsempra towards the figure. The wizard deflected it, but three more came at him as her friends attempted to get over their shock and join her. The others he was able to dodge, and deep cuts appeared in the trees that had been behind him.

He moved his wand towards Alice, but before he could get another spell off, Hagrid had rushed him and smacked him with the now empty crossbow, using it like a club. The wizard was sent flying off the ground and landed several feet away with a his. "Escape," called a low voice that Alice barely heard. They were far enough from the castle that the castle wards were not covering them, and the man suddenly disapperated away. The sound was not the usual crack, but instead a soft pop.

"We're goin' back," said Hagrid as he loaded a new bolt into the crossbow. "I need to tell Professor Dumbledore 'bout this."

Alice nodded numbly, as did her companions as they began to be lead towards the castle.

That night, Alice was back in the Chamber of Secrets, and she decided to put Dia back on her head to confer. It would only be for a couple minutes, and both Dia and Alice came to the same conclusion.

There was a rival in the hunt for the Philosopher's Stone, and if this wizard got a hold of it, he would end up being a rival towards the title of Dark Lord.

 _ **NOTE:**_ _In most fanfiction I've read, most people seem to get rid of Norbert/Norberta like in canon, but I thought it might be more interesting to keep her and see what happened with that development over the years. In other notes, I am horrible at writing Hagrid's accent, and don't see myself getting better any time soon. So forgive me for that as he and other accents come up and I fail to emphasize them properly._


	20. Chapter 20 - The Third Floor Corridor

_**NOTE:** As of the time of writing, this story has achieved a hundred favorites, so I would like to take a moment to thank you all for reading this and hope everyone is enjoying it. It is humbling to think a hundred people actually like what I'm writing. I went through quite the writing spurt, so sorry for dumping several chapters up within hours of each other, hope it doesn't overwhelm my readers._

 **Chapter 20**

 **The Third Floor Corridor**

The desire to acquire the Philosopher's Stone had suddenly become much higher on Alice's list of priorities now that she knew she was not the only one after it. Alice knew very little about her rival outside of what she had seen. She assumed he was a wizard and not a witch by the shape of his chin, and of considerable skill and power at least to the level of some of the better Death Eaters.

And the man was dying. She didn't know what he was dying of exactly, but he was desperate enough to use Unicorn Blood unwillingly taken, which would keep him alive but at the cost of cursing him. He had killed more than one unicorn by now, which meant he was truly desperate. From what Alice knew, the curse was quite unpleasant and if he ever stopped he would spend the rest of his likely short life in agonizing pain and helpless weakness as his muscles shriveled away and sent his body into a conscious coma where he could do nothing but think on the mistake of relying on Unicorn's blood.

But the Philosopher's Stone might have been capable of curing the curse and whatever ailment the man had that would make him that desperate to cling to life. Based on these things, she tried to think of who it could be.

Considering how quickly the man had deflected the Sectumsempra curse, her first thought was that it could have been Severus Snape. A standard shield charm did not usually deflect such a spell so easily, and only a special few people knew the curse well enough to know the counter curse offhand. As it's inventor, Severus Snape was one such person, and easily skilled enough, though the Avada Kedavra hadn't been a signature of his back in the day.

She also began to imagine Professor Quirrell might be suspicious, if only because the curse on his possession meant the possibility of him being a desperate dying man was actually rather high. The stutter and such could be an act that Alice hadn't paid enough attention to until now, and he was looking rather pale and unhealthy lately. But if it was an act, then it was good enough that Alice found it bizarre that the man could have been quite so skilled with the Killing Curse.

Few other ideas were forthcoming, as otherwise she imagined it could have been an outsider who had somehow heard the Stone was here, or even some desperate Hogsmeade villager that might not actually be after the stone at all and was just coincidentally dying at around the same time the Stone was in the castle. Alice wasn't too quick to accept the idea of a simple coincidence, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

She could no longer take things slow, and she knew she would have to make sure she got to the stone first. She could no longer take things nice and slow. Nor could she just rush through right at this moment, as she knew Dumbledore would have some sort of alarm to alert him of someone going after the story. It would be best to go when he was somewhere else, perhaps a Wizzengamot session he could not avoid. Alice summoned Megan and told her to keep an ear out for such events, while she prepared for a heist.

The first week of June saw Alice take up the Locket of Slytherin and put her glamor amulet within, assuming the form of Deliria Lovedoll. The Wizzengamot was in session, and Albus Dumbledore would not be able to interfere any time soon. If she was caught attempting to steal the stone, it would be better to be caught as her rather than as Alice Potter. Megan volunteered to join her, and Alice thought it might be best to have an emergency exit in the form of House Elf apparition which was so rarely warded against, and certainly not within the castle.

Deliria Lovedoll wore a simple black cloak that his most of her equipment. She took the flute to get past the great Cerberus known by the humorously cute name of Fluffly. "He's amazing," said Megan in awe, who still only saw only a small portion of the Wizarding World within her work under Alice.

The two took Megan's broom down towards the vicious plants. "Infernum," she intoned, raising Scabior's wand and summoning a burst of fiendfyre that took care of the plants quickly before cutting off the enchanted fire and flying on. The Devil's snare was already regrowing itself as she left it there. "Even gardening is cooler with magic," noted Megan, and Deliria was rather grateful to have humorous commentary for their journey.

"Those would take longer to deal with without fiendfyre," Deliria noted out loud. "The only other plant better for guarding would have been a Whomping Willow, which wouldn't easily be planted inside a castle."

Unfortunately, this was the end of the defenses she already knew about. The next room had a set of broomsticks already, though Deliria and Megan saw no reason to abandon their own. The air was filled with fluttering creatures, and on closer inspection, they appeared to be keys. There was only one door and hundreds of keys. "Accio correct key," Deliria tried, but the moment she did the keys turned violent and began to swarm at her. "Hold on," she told her friend, who wrapped her arms around Deliria's stomach and squealed as they began to shoot off.

Deliria's wand was casting silently as she kept away from the swarm of keys attempting to overwhelm them. She could not simply destroy them, for that might lock her within the room. Her attempts to track the correct key were met with failure. Someone had been quite thorough with enchanting the keys against the various methods she could think to summon it.

Her next plan was to try to bust down the door, but it too was quite resistant to spells. If she had the power of a full grown Lord Voldemort she might have been able to brute force it, but she was still in too young a body to get through it that way. So, she finally relented and tried to figure out the game that was being paid, giving more attention to the patterns of the keys. While most were busy attempting to attack her, she spotted one that was attempting to keep away from her.

"There we are," she murmured as she shot off after it. Unfortunately, the keys were able to swarm her while she grabbed at the true key, and she found herself bruising in several places. Once she grabbed the key, however, she unleashed another wave of fiendfyre to destroy the aggressive keys before moving down and landing, putting the key to the door.

"That was annoying, wasn't it?" she asked her companion.

"Only once they started hitting us, Mistress," remarked the part house elf as they entered the next room.

The next room looked to be a giant chess board, and Deliria began to think the challenges were meant to take up time and five the defending Professor's plenty of time to catch the thief after they spent all their energy on these tasks.

"So we're to play a game, I take it?" Deliria asked the room, as she moved towards the king. The king seemed to take her action as acceptance and moved out of her way, as if she were to take his place. She took the place of the king. "Megan, be my queen, would you?"

The game began with Deliria as the commander, and only the mind of the pieces fighting against her. But someone had done a lot of work enchanting the other chess set, and it was actually a rather good player, playing not to win, but to prolong the game as long as possible, confirming Alice's theory that these challenges were meant to delay a thief rather than defeat him on their own.

Eventually Deliria won, but she had wasted rather a lot of time playing by the rules, and she hoped the next challenge would not take quite as long. Her inner Dark Lady was rather annoyed at Albus Dumbledore's game, and growing paranoid about how easy she had made most of the challenges that came before.

She was therefore pleased to see a Mountain Troll was all that stood in her way. "Oh," said Megan, who was more afraid of the creature then she needed to be. While she could kill it in similar ways to how she had killed the one on Halloween, but Deliria thought it better if her style did not look too similar to Alice Potter's own.

So she did something quicker. "Avada Kedavra," she called, and the troll fell quickly after the green light hit it, dead. There were very few creatures that could take a killing curse, and most of those save the Dementor could take no more than two. A Basilisk or a Dragon would have their scales broken by the first and would hurt greatly before the second blast of death claimed them forever. A troll was neither a dragon nor a basilisk.

"Woah, that was incredible, Mistress!" squealed Megan, not knowing that this exact spell made her Potter side suddenly uncomfortable with the ease at which her Dark Lady could cast it so easy. Perhaps she would always feel just a tinge of fear from that spell. After all, one showing of it and she had thought the other potential thief must be quite powerful to wield it so freely.

To Tom Riddle and Alice Riddle, the Killing Curse was the pinnacle of power and worthy of fear.

"Yes it was," Deliria said softly as she continued on past the body. The next room they came to had a table of potions, and once they entered it together, flames appeared at the entrance and the exit. "Bugger." The Purple flames at the entrance could be gotten past she knew, but the Black flames were rather more severe.

She looked at the Riddle, and knew more specifically what teacher had set up this trap. "Clever idea, Severus, but while a logic riddle might stump other wizards, it is nothing to me." She smiled as she read through and quickly took up the correct potion. She and Megan drank it, though Deliria had to force Megan through the flames, for all her instincts told her that walking into fire was a bad idea.

"Only Severus would think to use Darkfire for such a trap," muttered Deliria as she found herself in what appeared to be the last room.

There was just a standing mirror in the center of the room. She looked around and saw no other doors, and if there were others then somehow the Mirror had been made into a door. She stepped closer to the mirror and looked up at the inscription. "Erised," she muttered. She stepped up closer, and a vision appeared in the mirror.

Alice Riddle sat upon a throne, but she was older and taller, looking close to how Deliria's body looked now, with one eye red and the other green. She was smiling pridefully and holding the Philosopher's Stone in hand. Surrounding her were all the followers she had acquired so far and the shadows of others she had yet to attain, kneeling down. Her favorites were the closest to her, looking so happy to kneel down and kiss at her feet. She was adorned in all the Horcruxes of Voldemort as though they were her own personal royal regalia.

"Desire, then," she muttered. "This is my heart's desire, to rule." She giggled to herself. "It may as well be a vision of the future then, though I think I might have my work cut out for me to make kissing my feet seem so appealing."

"Kissing your what?" said Megan in surprise. "Um, I don't see anything."

"This mirror shows your heart's desire," said Deliria. "No surprise, I want to be in control of things and be beautiful and powerful. A little selfish and egotistical I suppose, but I'm comfortable enough with who I am." Besides, there was a hint of joy in her mirror self that Alice Riddle wanted desperately. It was not just the power and domination; apparently she also wanted her minions to be happy at her feet. As long as she was not so selfish as to not care about her friends, her Potter side was pleased enough with her desires. Her Dark Lady side thought her Potter side was too easily pleased but as long as they weren't fighting each other, she was fine with that.

"But how is that a test?" asked Megan, putting Deliria's mind back on the task she was here for. She looked at the Philosopher's Stone in her other self's hand.

"I can see the Stone, but how do I get it?" she asked herself, and taking up Scabior's old wand, she tried testing things. Summoning didn't work, not that she expected it to. She couldn't quite identify what enchantment had implanted the ring into the mirror, as the mirror itself seemed to obfuscate reality and compel her desires to show themselves. "I could break the mirror, but that might not work so easily, nor will it likely release the Stone, and instead destroy it."

"What does this stone thing do again?" asked Megan, and Deliria realized she hadn't spoken to her much about it.

"It's very valuable," she said, deciding she'd explain it more if they actually got it. Better to not worry Megan with its potential importance. "And I would very much like to have it."

She took her time trying to figure something out, but the answer was eluding her. "Perhaps a second viewer might get a different clue," she mused. "Megan, come here and tell me what you see."

Her friend came up to stand beside her and looked at the mirror. "Nothing's really different," said Megan. "It's just a mirror image to me, you and me together."

Deliria laughed. "I guess that means your heart's desire might just be to be standing by my side on an adventure, huh?"

Megan blushed but smiled. "Maybe," she said, and then she gasped. "Wait, mirror me has the stone! She's putting it in her-" She stopped talking, and her hand went to her own pants pocket. Then she pulled out a blood red crystalline stone.

Deliria gasped. "What did you do different from me?" she wondered out loud.

"I just wanted to get the stone for you, even if it doesn't do anything special," she said.

Deliria thought on that, and but she didn't know what exactly Megan had done differently. Maybe Dumbledore had made it so only a House Elf could fetch the stone and Megan's hybrid status had worked for her? No wizard Deliria knew would have thought a House Elf could pull off what they could not.

"Well, I had been wondering why it seemed like someone had been making things easier for me," came a voice from the fire, and Deliria and Megan turned to view a man in a ridiculus turbin but not stuttering like he usually did. He raised a wand.

"I'll be taking the stone, if you please, Ladies," said Professor Quirrell.

Deliria had been taken by surprise, and her own wand was at her side, where his was pointed and ready. "Ah, Quirinus Quirrell, Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Deliria calmly. "I knew someone else was after the stone. You were the one who got to Gringotts too late, correct?"

"Yes, that was me," he said, sharing her rather calm smile with a hint of pride. "My failure there meant my master had to punish me, and I have been working to do much better at my task here."

"Master?" said Megan.

"So you are a servant," said Deliria, her smile becoming more prideful. "Well, I'm afraid if your Master wanted the stone, he should have given himself better odds by coming with you. For I and my own servant will not lose our grasp on it so easy."

"He already has come," came a voice, and Deliria found herself looking around as the voice seemed to echo around. It was familiar, the soft voice she had heard in the forest. The distraction signaled Quirrell to fire a stunner in her direction, but Alice quickly snapped her wand to the ready and deflected it like it was second nature.

"Invisible, are you, my friend?" called Deliria with a wider smile. Spells were coming down upon her but she expertly deflected and blocked the spells, then twirled with a dodge to a couple more. "Why not come out to play?" Her heart began to thump, but she felt alive with excitement. Fighting seemed to awaken something vicious inside her that longed to let herself go.

"You seem quite self-assured," called the voice, and the more she heard it the more familiar it sounded. It was raspy, but there was some sense of cultured elegance to his tone. Quirrell seemed unnaturally focused on his task as he dueled against her, all on the offensive and putting more and more power into it. "You are young, but handled these challenges with an expertise in the Dark Arts. Who might I be speaking to?"

"You speak to the next great Lady of the Dark, Deliria Lovedoll," she proclaimed with a grin, her eyes still darting here and there to watch for him. "And who is my rival who likely plots a similar rise?" She was laying it on thick, but it was the first time she had made her proclamation of her true intentions to more than a couple little girls with no real idea of how serious such business was. One of said little girls had started to hide behind the mirror as the duel began and was looking rather fearful now that the danger did not seem so easily conquered.

A high, cold laugh came out, and suddenly the fun of this moment seemed to shatter like glass as Deliria's eyes widened in recognition. She knew that laugh. "You speak to the once and soon returning Dark Lord Voldemort, child," he said. "And if you surrender yourself now upon learning it, I would allow you to live and serve at my rise."

"You lie," Alice hissed and her eyes narrowed. "The Dark Lord is dead."

When Tom Riddle woke up inside a little girl, he had assumed that the confluence of magics had trapped his broken soul within her. When Alice Riddle was born, she had also assumed the main soul of her father was trapped in her. She had never considered that she was herself technically a Horcrux to a still ongoing Dark Lord Voldemort. She still didn't want to think it, and began to think one of his Horcrux's must have gotten lose.

"I am beyond Death!" declared the voice of the Dark Lord. "I have become immortal, though unforeseen events have rendered me temporarily weakened. But it seems even the power of the Killing Curse, of which I know you are somewhat proficient, truly cannot remove me from the world any longer. So I say again, young lady, stand down and give me the stone and bow before your lord."

He knew he'd been hit be a rebounded Killing Curse. The others wouldn't know, only Alice knew. It couldn't be. "Avada Kedavra!" she screamed as hate welled in her. "The Dark Lord Voldemort is dead, and I shall be everything you ever were and more, ghost. I shall take all you were and exceed you. Long live the Dark Lady Deliria!"

Quirrell dodged her Killing Curse, but she began to throw curse after curse after him and went on the offensive. A bonebreaker curse caught him on the kneecap and he growled in pain and stumbled. He pointed and his own killing curse went for her and she twirled away while the green light barely missed the mirror behind her.

"Mistress!" cried Megan, who with a snap of her fingers sent Quirrell up in the air and smacking into a wall. He gasped as he slid down, the turban falling off and Alice could see a red eyed faced looking somewhat dazed.

"Quirrell, give me control!" demanded the Dark Lord, and when Quirrell stood again he seemed to ignore his shattered knee, his eyes blank for a moment before they became red.

"Possession," muttered Deliria. "The Dark Lord really has become little more then a ghost, or maybe I should compare you to a Luciferian Demon instead?"

Quirrel's face smirked. "I will admit to being close enough," he said, speaking in a blend of the two voices of the young Professor and his Master. "Though it's not quite so easy for me as it seems to be for them. And my bodies tend to deteriorate rather fast. I need that stone, but I don't need my servant to survive. I can go on until he is spent, but you are beginning to show signs of being tired. Not much of a Dark Lady with that stamina."

Deliria kept smiling confidently, but he was quite right. Her body was not prepared to fight at the Dark Lord's level. "Don't think you shall win this, Fallen Lord," she sneered.

But as the two stared each other down and it looked as though another round was about to begin, a figure came from the flames.

"Most unexpected," said an old man in dreadfully colorful robes and wearing an insufferably serene expression. "I come expecting to find one thief, and instead I've found two."

"Albus Dumbledore," said Deliria pleasently, as both prospective Dark Lady and fallen Dark Lord turned their wands towards a man both of them considered a bigger threat despite his own wand being at his side. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Dumbledore," sneered the Dark Lord from two mouths.

"I would be more delighted to meet you under better circumstances, Miss," said Dumbledore genially, before his eyes came to Quirrell's face. "I was hoping Severus was wrong about you, Quirinus. I am deeply sorry for what has befallen you."

"He cannot hear you anymore, you old fool, the last of his mind is broken."

"As broken as you, Tom?" asked the old man, and Deliria allowed herself to snort. "What horrors have you done to yourself?"

"I have attained immortality," stated Tom Riddle. "While your Girl-Who-Lived set me back, I will rise again, stronger than ever before."

"The odds of that have shifted from slim to none, Tommy boy," jeered Deliria with delight. "Against me you had perhaps a ghost of a chance, but there you cannot fight a battle of this level on two fronts."

Voldemort scowled at the truth of that statement. "You have cost me my time, Deliria Lovedoll, and I shall not forget it. When Dumbledore has you thrown into Azkaban, know that I will come back, and dread every moment of it." Suddenly, from the back of Quirrell's head, a plume of black smoke seemed to shoot out of him and rushed out of the room as fast as it could go. Quirrell's eyes became very blank before the man fell over.

Sadly, this did not make things much easier, as Deliria found herself alone with the most powerful wizard in the room and running low on her own magical reserves. She put her full attention on him and stepped back a bit, closer to the mirror.

Dumbledore looked down at the body with a deep sense of sadness coming from him. "I truly am sorry I didn't do more," he told the dead or dying man before he put his attention on his second enemy. "Miss Lovedoll, is it?"

"It is," she answered, keeping her own pleasant smile plastered on his face. They looked eachother in the eye, and Alice felt pressure on her mind. She allowed Dumbledore to see the fortress walls. "Now now, it's impolite to see a girl's private thoughts."

"Apologies, a bad habit I picked up in the war. You are quite skilled, young lady," said Dumbledore, meeting her smile with his own sadder one. "And very young, and despite what Voldemort claim that I'd simply throw you into Azkaban, I am a man who believes strongly in second chances. That stone belongs to a friend of mine, and I would appreciate it's return and even let you leave without involving the authorities."

"Your generosity is well known, Dumbledore, but I am afraid I am a rather greedy girl," said Deliria. "But I can give you a counter offer. Tell me his address, and I'll make sure ol' Nic gets his supply of Elixir. I don't mean to kill anyone, but I think this stone could be doing more useful things after I experiment with it a little."

"I'm afraid I take that deal, as it's not mine to make," said the old man, and Deliria became very cautious of any twitch.

"That's too bad, I guess I'll have to find it out on my own then," she said. "Before we do this, would you tell me how the final test was supposed to work? My own servant acquired the stone where I couldn't, and I'm not sure how she did it."

Dumbledore's eyes found Megan, who quickly ducked back behind the mirror. "A child?"

"She wanted to come," said Deliria defensively. "I had hoped to be out of here before any danger occurred. My friends are more important to me than they are to Tommy boy."

"It is good to hear that you are not heartless, at least," said Dumbledore. "I suppose it is safe enough to tell you already since you've acquired it. I thought I was being quite clever. When looking into the Mirror of Erised, you had to want the stone but not use it in order to get it."

"Deceptively simple," muttered Deliria. "It was clever for Voldemort, at least. He'd never think to bring someone who wouldn't be tempted by the power of the stone. My little Webby just happened to not know the stone did anything special, isn't that funny? All she knew was that I wanted it."

"Ah, I see," he said. "Miss Webby, I do hope you were not pulled into this against your will."

"No, sir," said Megan politely from behind the mirror. "I'm helping Mistress of my own free will, and I won't give the stone to anyone else as long as she wants it."

"Don't worry, I plan to take her right back safely home after this, Professor," Deliria told him. "No more dangerous adventures for her for a while." Deliria put her left hand out towards Megan. "Home, Webby."

Megan took her hand, and while Dumbledore's wand raised faster than they could blink, they were gone with a crack before the spell hit.

Dumbledore was alone in the room, staring in shock at empty space that ones held the young woman, child and even the mirror that had apparently gone with them. It was unmistakably a dissaperation, but as all he had seen were humans, he had no idea how they had managed it within the Castle.

"Fascinating," was all he could manage to say, as he began to worry about how Nicolas would take this news.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

With a crack, Deliria and Megan landed in the Dursley house, while the Mirror of Erised stood beside them. It had only come with them as Megan had been holding onto it like a shield, taking it with her completely by accident. Deliria collapsed with a huffing of breath. "Morgana, that was terrifying!" she called. "He's alive. He's alive." The glamor deactivated and Deliria's form shrank back into the tiny Alice Riddle who found her eyes water.

"It's really him," she whispered. "And he's still out there." She found herself suddenly scared and angry at the same time. She had not been able to take him while he was simply possessing another man, and now he was out there. He could turn up again, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her mother's sacrifice had been in vain after all, and now Alice's very life was fueling his continued existence.

She was just another horcrux.

She found Megan had started to hug her as she began to cry in the now over-sized robes.


	21. Chapter 21 - End of First Year

**Chapter 21**

 **End of First Year**

Alice had been taken back to her dormitory after she stopped crying and went immediately back to bed. Despite her victory in acquiring the Stone, and even an extra souvenir she had not intended to acquire, she did not sleep well.

Her nightmare was an inverse of the desires the mirror had shown her, where Alice lay helpless before the throne of Lord Voldemort and was forced to kiss the hem of his robes and treat him like a god. The mixed subconscious of her Potter side believing Voldemort to be a scary enemy and her Dark Lady side believing Voldemort to be great could only see a world where Voldemort would stand above the pitiful Alice, who if she were discovered to be a Horcrux would be kept helpless and alone to continue to keep the Dark Lord in this world forever.

When she awoke, she was rather despondent throughout the day, and when her friends took notice, all she told them was that she head a headache and wasn't feeling well. She took to rubbing her scar while losing herself in thoughts, trying to figure out what to do.

She decided she needed to find someone that understood her fears and went to the Chamber of Secrets earlier then she usually would. Nyssa was sleeping coiled up in the main room, but Alice moved passed her and into the library. "Dia," she whispered while taking up the Diadem and placing it on her head. Despite the risks, she decided she didn't care so much today, she wanted someone to confide in.

"Huh," whispered Dia to her mind. "That's a surprise."

"I couldn't beat him," she admitted. "He was just a ghost possessing a Professor, less than a ghost even, and I couldn't beat him."

"Oh sweet sister, of course you couldn't," said Dia softly. "You might be more powerful then most people your age, but you are still only eleven."

"He's going to lock me away like the Locket," said Alice, becoming more frantic as she admitted her fears. "I'll be just another Horcrux."

"He has no idea you are a Horcrux," said Dia wisely. "And no way to know. You are safe."

"But I can't beat him," Alice whimpered, and it was in these most emotional moments where she felt more like a little girl then a sixty year old Dark Lord in a girl's body.

"Yet," said the proper Horcrux. "You can't be beat him yet. He has no body of his own, and his method of possession is slow. He told us he had only just destroyed Quirrell's mind completely, Quirrell was drinking Unicorn blood just to maintain his body while being possessed. The Philosopher's Stone is now completely beyond his reach in your possession, and he shall have to hunt for another means of rising. It took him a decade to even go after the stone, it may take a decade more to find the next solution. By then, you will have reached your majority and likely be an equal to him in power, or even greater."

Alice was soothed by the wisdom Dia poured into her. "I… yes, I… I am growing faster in power then he did, aren't I?"

"You are," agreed Dia. "If father were your age today, you would kill him as easily as any other child. You already have his mind, and he is wasting his time trying to find a means of coming back to life. You can learn things he has yet to, you can grow in power. By the time you meet again, you will be stronger."

"But… his soul, even if I kill him, we hold him here," she murmured.

"Then eat his soul. It is technically our soul. Treat him as you planned to treat the Horcruxes. He is the version who proudly killed your parents. Your mother defeated him and you have the power to finish the job. We will beat him and consume him."

"We… Dia, I think maybe I've left you on my head too long," Alice murmured, though her will to take off the Diadem was rather low.

"I mean no harm, sister mine," soothed the Diadem. "But let us stop being so alone. Can you feel our souls calling to each other?" Alice did feel it, and further she wanted to pull that connection closer. "It feels better to be together. I don't want to disappear into you, and you don't want to disappear into me. I think neither of us wants the other to disappear either."

Their connection seemed to grow closer and closer as Dia spoke to her mind. "Let us try something different then from absorbing one another. A symbiosis. We both like to experiment with new ideas and change what people believe is possible. Will you join with me, my sister in spirit?"

Alice knew she was being manipulated, but she liked the feeling of fulfilment. It was better than when the Locket was absorbed. Rather than a violent pull, it was like a gentle hug as they became entwined together. "Yes, sis," she murmured, and then the world went black.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice Riddle felt different as she awoke, but unlike her experience with the Locket, she was not overwhelmed with memories again and sensations like she was more Tom then before. "Dia?" she murmured, touching her head and feeling the Diadem still on her head. She felt no desire to remove it.

"Hello, Alice. Feeling better?"

"Yes," she said. She felt great, actually. And she wasn't being possessed or anything, and she felt like her thoughts were still completely her own. "What did we do?"

"I joined my soul to yours willingly," said Dia. "Though I kept my mind separated. Instead of becoming a part of your 'Dark Lady side', as you think of it, I became something of a splintered personality. Feels good. I think I can confirm that father's decision to break his soul was quite foolish if it feels this much better to be even a little more whole."

"Our minds are completely separate?"

"Well, I can delve into your mind and you can delve into mine, but unless we will ourselves to do so we won't. I can't overtake your will and take over your body or anything, and you don't have quite as much control over mine as you do our Locket."

"My locket," Alice murmured.

"We can share."

Alice giggled as she felt Dia mentally pout. "You really are like a sister, huh?"

"Yes. Very close sisters."

"So what are we doing with your body?" Alice couldn't exactly go around wearing the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw throughout the castle.

"We might be able to transfigure it into something less consprivuous for day to day wear," mused Dia. "I'm thinking maybe a hairband in Slytherin Green."

"I might not look bad in that," Alice replied. She put her wand to the Diadem and tried out the transfiguration. She conjured a mirror. "Looking good."

"Indeed," agreed Dia. "Perhaps Deliria might take up a crown some time in future, though. It rather fits the queenly image."

"It does," agreed Alice as she stepped back out towards the rest of the castle with her sister.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice's spirits renewed, her friends became relieved that she had started to feel better, and Eris and Hermione didn't question it. Lily however caught her eye and got a thoughtful look, but the Perceiver didn't ask what exactly had changed. "I'd love to know what her perceptions are like from her perspective," Dia said. "We should try to get me on her head sometime."

The hardest thing about this new development was Dia's commentary occasionally distracted her from the real world. She could be quiet if she wanted to, but the freedom to speak whenever she wished had quickly grown addicting for her spiritually bonded sibling and she couldn't help but comment and offer advice.

"Miss Potter," came a voice, and Alice found her attention snatched up into the face of Severus Snape, the man she had considered more likely to be her fellow thief then Quirrell. "The Headmaster would like to speak to you."

"He'll probably be warning you about the incident with the Stone and father's appearance in the castle," Dia commented. Alice allowed herself to be lead to the Headmaster's office, though gave the entrance a quirked brow when the password of turned out to be 'Chocolate Frogs'. What a strange password to use.

Snape lead her into the office and stood beside the Headmaster's desk.

Albus Dumbledore gave her a rather warm smile, which contrasted greatly to the accusing stare Tom Riddle had been so used to. "Ah, Miss Potter, please take a seat." Alice obeyed. "I'm afraid I must tell you troubling news," he said sadly.

"What's happened, Headmaster?" she asked politely, but with apparent curiosity and a bit of nervousness. Dia made a few suggestions on how to do it better, and Alice took the advice quickly.

"I'm afraid your parent's murderer has made a reappearance," he said solemnly.

"Anger would seem the most realistic response," mused Dia.

Alice's acting was getting better than before, as her face fell into quiet shock before a fierce anger overtook it. Some of that anger was even real, as the thought that Voldemort still existed as an individual did indeed still leave her quite peeved. "I thought he was dead, sir," she said, apparently struggling to keep her tone polite and controlled.

"Most people do, but I am afraid he got into the castle recently," he said gravely. "We also believe he may be the one responsible for unleashing the Troll in the castle at Halloween."

Her anger showed again, and Alice only now realized that was likely true. He had almost killed one of her minions by proxy, the bastard. "What happened to him?"

"After being discovered, he fled. I am afraid he is out of our reach, and the means by which he has survived will make it hard to capture him." He was not giving her much detail, but he was certainly not lying. She believed it was what most would tell a child about such an incident. "I don't believe he shall try again any time soon, but I felt it would be best if you knew that he was around to potentially try."

Alice appeared to battle with her emotions, but in reality she was calm before she showed it. "Thank you for telling me, sir," she said. "Is there anything else?"

"A few matters that I have accidentally let slip my mind 'til now," he said, and he pulled a key out from his desk. "I had your Gringotts key, and meant to return it to you at the beginning of the year. I hope it wasn't too inconvenient."

Alice felt real surprise hit her face. "I already had a new one made, sir, but thank you for returning it anyways," she said, taking the key from him and pocketing it. It would be best if a spare key was kept on her person or even taken back by the goblins.

"My apologies for the slow return," he said. "I also felt I might recommend you keep the return of Lord Voldemort from your friends, particularly Miss Lestrange. Her family might take a certain interest in this news that would be unwanted."

Alice bit her lip. She hoped she'd be able to consume Voldemort's soul before Eris ever had to have to choose between loyalties. "That is probably wise advice," she said though she looked like she was struggling with it.

"It is," Dia confirmed as though hers was the voice of wisdom itself.

"I am sorry for having to keep secrets from your friends, but this one might be for the best at the moment."

"I am in Slytherin, sir, I am cunning enough to keep a secret when it's important."

Snape seemed to smirk at that but he quickly trained his face back into a neutral expression.

"There's a couple questions you should ask," noted Dia, and gave Alice the questions.

"Oh, sir," said Alice. "I had a couple questions for you."

"I shall answer if I can," offered Dumbledore.

"I know you are the one who dropped me off at my aunt and uncle's house," she informed him, and he nodded. "I never realized quite how famous I was until I arrived at the Leaky Cauldron last summer. I began to realize that despite my fame, I wasn't bombarded with fan mail throughout my childhood."

Dumbledore nodded. "Oh, I had forgotten about that," he said. "I had put on a charm to send any mail sent to you from strangers to be rerouted when you were younger, partially to keep you and your family from being overwhelmed and partially to keep more dangerous packages from making their way to you. I regret to say that not everyone loyal to Lord Voldemort's cause was caught, and a few anonymously sent cursed mail your way. I can remove the charm if you wish and return the safe mail collected over the years to your possession."

"I would like that, please," she asked. "I don't really think I deserve much of this hero worship, but I'd rather not leave people thinking I don't care that they appreciate me."

"Very considerate of you, Miss Potter," he said with a soft smile before he lifted his wand. Alice kept herself from tensing as he performed a silent spell. "I shall have your mail delivered to you before you leave for home. There is a rather a lot of it, I must warn, don't try to get through it all at once."

"Last question," she began. "Do you know how Voldemort survived?"

"I'm afraid I only have theories and guesses," Dumbledore answered. "While one of them might be true, I do not yet know for sure. For now, try not to let it worry you. I can tell you that he is weaker than he was before meeting you, and will have trouble getting to you again."

"Thank you for answering me, Professor. Have a good day."

"Have a good day yourself, Miss Potter," he said as she stood up and turned to walk out of the room. "Do you think he knows about the Horcruxes?"

"He may include a Horcrux among his theories, but it's unlikely he knows about there being more than one," said Dia.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The year ended much like Alice expected, with herself at the top of her year in all classes. She had to put Nyssa back into hibernation for the summer, but promised to let her back out when she returned. She spent the train ride with her friends, and played Wizard's Chess with Eris, while Hermione chattered away about her family's plans for a summer vacation. Alice promised to write, but told her friends that she expected to be busy for the Summer, knowing she would be spending much time as Deliria and trying to explore the mysteries of the Philosopher's Stone.

Alice was surprised when she got off the train and found the Dursley's had been summoned to drive her home, and Alice decided to humor her irritable relatives by taking the care. "How have you not killed these people, Alice?" mused Dia.

"Not sure sometimes," Alice mused back, while thinking back at her school year. One year down, six to go.

 _ **NOTE:** That's it for year one, now I have a rather different idea that would take place over the summer as something of an in-between adventure that would temporarily turn this fic into a crossover, so I thought I should ask my readers whether I should include it within this fix or make it into another fic separately but count it as canon with this one? I've been playing with the idea for long enough that I am fairly sure I want to write it, but I am not sure if everyone will want to read it as a full part of this story._


	22. Chapter 22 - The Invitations

_**NOTE:** So, I decided to put the crossover I have in mind as a separate fic, so there are only hints of it in this chapter, more like an introduction to it, and most of it reserved for the end. If you are uninterested, simply skip that story, as it won't effect this one too much, though know it is within Deliria's canon, but if any crossover characters appear in future, they will more then likely be simple cameos and mentions. Most likely. Sometimes my writing just floes so if I go back on that in future, apologies in advance. Please enjoy!_

 **Chapter 22**

 **The Invitations**

There was a grave feeling in the room. As the school year ended, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had sent word to some of his closest friends and allies that he had news, and quickly most of them had come in fear that his worries of a returned Voldemort had come to pass. He had also called to the heads of the Hogwarts Houses, as they were owed to know what had happened to the Stone they had helped him try to protect.

And of course, he invited the owner of that stone and could not meet his eye for shame of the failure. He had set up a meeting in the Staff Room, and had set the pensive up in the center of an expanded circular table. Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel had arrived first, having already guessed why they were here. Albus offered all the apologies he could offer and was told he was not to blame. He wished he could believe it himself.

Severus and Minerva both already had dour looks on their faces, having heard a little of what had happened already. Filius and Pomona, however, were looking more curious then concerned, as this had been the first time they had ever sat in on what some referred to as Albus' 'War Meetings'.

Alastor Moody came in with his usual suspicious scowl that focused quickly on Severus, while his magical eye whirled around the room as if expecting a trap. The poor man would never be able to fully recover from the war, as Albus feared his war time paranoia was going to be a lifelong affliction. Even retired, the man would never allow himself to believe in peace, and Albus hated having to prove the man right with what he had to share today.

Mundungus Fletcher would probably be a controversial inclusion, as Alastor's scowl towards the man showed, but Albus would be needing a different perspective when he showed this memory to them all, and the man were as far from the rest of them as any of them could handle. He was a thieving con-artist, but despite that, he had answered the call to action in the last war by being their eyes and ears in the underworld. He might have even heard of the mysterious young woman who had taken the Stone on his side of the law before. While Albus was a believer in Good and Evil, he was willing to stand a bit of grey in his life for a better tomorrow.

Aberforth had declined his invitation, for his brother could only stand his company on the best or worst of times, and knew if it were serious enough Albus would come to personally tell him what happened. Emmaline Vance and Elphias Doge arrived together, quickly followed by Sturgis Podmore and Dedalus Diggle.

Remus Lupin came in next, and Albus was sad to see his situation had not much improved, still dressed shabbily and looking as though he struggled for work despite his excellent grades in school. The prejudice against Werewolves had not lessened since the war, and it looked like the man's first smile in years when some of his old friends and teachers greeted him.

"Aiiee-yaaah! What are you wearing?" came a voice of an older Chinese wizard who entered the room. The last time Albus had seen the man known to most as Uncle (though his real name Albus knew was Shu Chan), he had black hair, but now it had greyed with age. He was a short fellow, and his face seemed permanently set in a cranky scowl, though Albus knew the man had a wonderful smile when there was good reason to be happy. A few people looked like they had experienced an old horror at the sound of his voice. He was a great wizard and an expert in the banishment of Demons and other spiritual creatures that Voldemort had employed in the war, but the man was remembered by the survivors of the Order of the Phoenix for being rather crotchety and demanding.

"Good to see you too," said a familiar sultry voice, and walking ahead of the man through the door was a neck-length red haired woman wearing perhaps the most revealing dress Albus Dumbledore had ever seen. She had not changed much in the years, and her taste were still far too exotic for the rather conservative witches and wizards in the room, who looked like they were as shocked and scandalized as their Chinese ally had been. "Good to see you, Albus."

"A pleasure as always, my dear," Albus said to an old friend who was not near as young and modern as she appeared.

Remus seemed to draw some amusement from the shocked faces. "You haven't changed at all, Rayne," he said.

"It's a gift," she replied with a smile, showing off her fangs. The dhampir took a seat and made a show of teasing the men who took a bit too much interest.

"How goes the hunt?" asked Alastor.

"Plenty of dead vampires, but Kagan's still on the loose. Sadly the same as usual, he never sticks around where I can get to him."

"I am sad to say I have no information to share with you on that front," said Albus.

Two heavy sets of steps came in as a big red man and an even bigger Hagrid stepped through the door. The red man was a rather curious addition to the group, as he looked like, and technically was, a demon. Near the end of Grindelwald's war, the man christened at the time as Hellboy, but more often known as Red or Big Red to his friends came into the world. Despite his intimidating appearance and sometimes rough nature, he had since been trained in America as a specialist in their world and a liason between America's mundane and magical worlds. The situation in America after that war had meant it was harder to keep the muggle and magical worlds as separate as the ICW preferred.

"That's everyone, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said Hagrid, as the demonic man took a seat and Hagrid closed the door.

"Thank you, Hagrid," he said.

"Doing alright, Red?" asked Rayne. "Feeling better after that last nest?"

"I only fell two stories, I'm fine," Hellboy brushed off with his stone hand. "I don't have a lot of time to catch up today though, I have to be back in the States in a few hours. So, he back?"

At this, the room turned to Albus Dumbledore all at once, as everyone in the room save Severus and Minerva needed that answer. Albus stood up. "My friends, I am glad to tell you that though he has made a recent attempt to return to full power, his attempt ended in failure." Several sighs of relief followed this proclamation.

"But he's definitely still alive them," said Alastor grimly, his eye once more spinning around as though expecting Voldemort to surprise them at any moment.

"I am afraid so," he said. "And while I wish I could say that I was the one to stop him, he was instead thwarted by a third party getting to his prize before her could. For the last year, Voldemort-" Albus paused while a few people in the room still flinched. Voldemort had done quite a job on some people to make them so much as fear his name, though his foreign friends scowled at the reaction of the room. "-has been attempting to acquire an object known as the Philosopher's Stone, of which my friend Nicolas here." He nodded to Nicolas in acknowledgement.

"The Stone was first placed in Gringotts, but was removed before it could be stolen. I offered to provide protection for the stone here within Hogwarts."

"A bit dangerous to put bait in a school full of children," noted Hellboy.

"At the time it was only suspected that the purpatraitor might be Voldemort," said Albus, though he nodded grimly. "It was hoped that the stone would be safe here from most outside sources. However, Voldemort was able to slip in… by possessing Quirinus Quirrell, my now sadly deceased Defense Professor."

There was a silence. "He is a spirit now, then," noted Uncle, looking thoughtful.

"Yes," said Albus. "As far as I can tell, his method of possession is damaging to the body of his host, and he seems to weaken their will over time as well. It got to the point where Quirinus had taken to drinking Unicorn Blood to keep going until he could get to the Stone." There were another bout of gasps from the room from the people that understood how desperate someone had to be for that. "Voldemort also seemed to manifest a second face on the back of his head, though I don't know if that is a part of the possession or some dark magical modification he forced Quirinus to undertake. By the time he was done with the man, he had overtaken his mind.

"When he could no longer acquire the stone, he fled Quirinus' body and I can tell you his fleeing spirit looked disturbingly like black smoke."

"Aiiee-yaaah! He has become a demon spirit!?" exclaimed Uncle Chan loudly, and while his voice usually made people flinch anyways, the looks of concerned horror on most people's faces said that the news disturbed them more than his yelling.

"Luciferian?" asked Moody seriously.

"I am not sure, but I do not think so," said Albus carefully. "While he had the characteristics, I do not think Voldemort has suffered the ravages of some underworld and come out worse. Instead, I believe that whatever transformation of spirit he has undergone he has done to himself." This did not make anyone feel much better.

"While this is troubling news, I can confirm that Voldemort has fled the country, and was last seen fleeing into the forests of Albania. He might be hard to track down and contain, that we now know him to be a spirit without a body means we can begin raising certain defenses and watch out for certain oddities should he attempt to possess someone again. Uncle, I am hoping you might be able to help me with a few wards on this matter for at least Hogwarts and a few other locations of import."

Uncle nodded, and Albus sighed as he had to add one more trouble for them to consider. "As I said before, there is another bit of news that I find troubling," he began. "A young witch who I have never seen or heard of before today was also able to sneak into Hogwarts, and stole the Stone before Voldemort could get to it. She was skilled enough to be dueling with Voldemort in Quirrell's body before I got there, and from battering Quirinus' body took, and the lack of injuries I could see on her own body, she was doing remarkably well, though she was showing signs of tire."

There were several looks of surprise on people's faces, and Albus held his hand up before people could start asking questions. "Everything I know about the woman, you are about to see for yourselves. Because of my own lack of information on her besides our encounter, I am beseeching all of you for whatever insights you can offer."

And with that, they got a good look at the memory, starting from when Albus Dumbledore was hearing voices from behind the fire as he made his way in, and ending when Delira Lovedoll and her young companion Webby disappeared, getting away with both the Stone and the Mirror of Erised.

They watched the entire thing silently, and when it was over, Albus spoke up again. "You have seen all I know about Miss Lovedoll, and I would like to hear any other insights you can give me. Similarly, if you have noticed anything else about Voldemort by viewing the memory that I did not, I would like to hear that as well."

"Well," started Fletcher, and some people looked surprised he was actually going to contribute something. "I've seen 'er before, and know 'er by reputation." The surprise grew into shock that he might actually be useful at this meeting. "She runs that Delirum Gang down in Knockturn Alley. Showed up about three years ago, I think. Rumor is she crucio'd a coupla' guys until they started workin' for 'er. Within a few months, she has a slightly bigger gang of blokes. Started with small stuff, bit of mugging here and there, then suddenly she has this business. 'Delirium Security and Consultancy Agency' run out a Knockturn Warehouse.

"Great racket they came up with, offering to protect businesses from both themselves and other gangs and make it look legal from the surface. No one in Knockturn'll complain about it. Course, once she started that, other gangs took notice and copied her."

"We were wondering where that idea sprang up from," growled Alastor. "Before I retired, DMLE was taking notice of more activity in Knockturn lately, more attempts at organized crime."

"Stopped bein' an attempt after New Years," said Mundungus. "The biggest gangs all got together and decided to align up and take over the alley. The way I hear it, Bonebreaker, Grimly and Lovedoll have allied as equal partners."

"Bloody hell," Alastor grumbled, and it looked like he regretted being retired at the moment.

"So, the Ministry authorities are already watching for her," Albus said, quietly considering this new fact.

"Yes and no," said Mundungus. "They know about her, but she's never been specifically tied to a crime just yet. Your little memory might be the first time she's been caught in the act."

"She sent us a message," said Nicolas, and the group turned to look at the oldest man in the room. "Repeated her offer to send us Elixirs of Life once she figured out how to make it. I thought it might be a joke at the time, considering I was more worried about Voldemort stealing it."

"She seems to have some sense of morality, though it's hard to see where she draws the line," said Remus thoughtfully. "Her having some sort of child follower is more than a little disturbing."

"If it is a kid," said Hellboy. "She looked human, but human teleportation doesn't work here in Hogwarts, right? She had kinda pointy ears, too."

"It certainly looked and sounded like apparition to me," stated Emmaline Vance. "There wasn't any Phoenix there. Maybe they had an invisible house elf nearby or something."

Albus took the memory back up and paused it on the girl, looking at her closer. "Or maybe," he mumbled to himself, but the quiet in the room made sure everyone heard him.

"You have a theory," stated Minerva, hoping he wouldn't be secretive with this one.

"I was wondering if it was possible to be a human with a bit of house elf blood," he wondered, thinking back on it. "Webby does sound like something of a house elf name, doesn't it?"

"That sounds farfetched, but…" Remus began, now staring at the image. "Her eyes do look just a little bigger, don't they?"

Filius Flitwick, an actual hybrid himself, looked sharply at the image. "If she is, it wasn't done naturally, or we'd have likely heard of the girl's ancestors. The features are too subtle for her to be a first or second generation mix, I think."

"Could be bred for it over a few generations in secret," noted Hagrid, though he looked rather grim at the thought of breeding people the way he might an animal.

"Or it could be blood magic," said Hellboy. "Seen some crazy things done with that kind of thing back home."

"Or an alchemical chimera," said Nicolas.

Albus looked shocked but began nodding. "Using magic to force two creatures into one, one way or another. That might be the most likely."

"In that case, we might need another ward keeping out all House Elves except those who work here specifically," said Minerva.

"That could be more difficult than it sounds," said Albus. "There is not much research into the magic of House Elves. I will have to do some research to see if such a thing even can be done."

"So, let's see if we have the right of it," said Alastor. "A witch who looks to be in her late teens or early twenties shows up in Knockturn Alley, and now runs about a third of it, messes around with dark magic and experimental breeding with humans, and was able to sneak in Hogwarts, have a duel with the Dark Lord, look prepared to duel you right after even if she was getting a bit winded, steal two unique and powerful magical artifacts and then get out and mails the owner that she'll keep supplying him while she experiments with it. Who the hell is the woman and where did she come from!?"

The summery made Albus doubly sure that his worries that the woman was worth bringing up and keeping an eye out for were well founded. "That is what we shall have to find out," he said. "Nicolas, it is my recommendation that we report this robbery to the DMLE, now that we know they have likely had an eye on our young thief anyways."

"I agree," said Nicolas.

Albus nodded. "Nicolas and I shall be meeting with Amelia Bones and report this incident. If Miss Lovegood is turning out to be something of a rising Dark Lady herself, I feel it would be best to alert people now that we know of her and have evidence of at least one crime before she can continue to build herself up into more power. It may help that she will be similarly informed of Voldemort's current state as well."

There were nods, and feeling the meeting had come to an end, a few people started getting up from the table and talking amongst each other, but before anyone could leave there was a crack of what sounded like thunder, and a bright light appeared by the door that quickly took the form of a man dressed in white and wearing a straw hat.

Several wands were out as the man appeared, pointing at him warily, but a few people flinched as his white eyes seemed to spark with energy and glow with power. Uncle looked shocked. "Lord Raiden," he whispered.

"Defenders of Earth and Champions of the Light," called the man. "I bring word of a danger to our world."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice Riddle had a lot of things on her plate. For starters, she was sharing her headspace with her spiritual sibling, Dia Riddle-Ravenclaw. A few months ago, this development would have been distressing, but now Alice was perfectly fine with having a second voice in her head, third if she counter her inner feelings of her Potter Side and her Dark Lady side as actually being separate personas. Which she didn't, those were just different sides of her own twisted persona made from two different souls twisted together.

Next, Alice was worried about being too weak. Now, in reality, she understood she was rather powerful for her age, and having about half a century of study in magic within her head helped immensely, even more with Dia's new insights, gave her quite the edge on anyone her age, and quite a few people over her age. But the problem was her magical power and stamina were still limited by her actual age. Sadly, she had no known methods of overcoming this limit without some rather dangerous rituals

In standard magical society, or at least European Magical Society, it was understood that there were certain ages of magical growth. The most well-known of the growth ages were the ages of seventeen and the age of one hundred years old. At seventeen, a wizard was considered an adult and their magic considered fully matured and controllable. Accidental magic did not happen to anyone over seventeen without severe physical or mental issues causing it. At a hundred, a wizard was considered to be at the peak of their magical power.

Other transition periods of magical power were debated. While some people claim their children produced powerful accidental magic when younger, it is thought most accidental magical happens just after a child's third birthday. The age of seven, Tom Riddle's favorite number, is also thought to be a number when magic begins to exhibit growth. Some people thought eleven was another such age, and this belief caused most modern magical schools to begin proper schooling at eleven. Thirteen was the only theoretical age of magical growth Alice had left, and that was over a year away.

Third, Alice had a brand new set of magical toys to play with. The Mirror of Erised had been an accidental acquisition, but seeing her dreams made reality in the mirror was fun. Her heart's desire had changed just slightly to include a sliver that was Voldemort's soul squirming helplessly in her hands while she laughed over it.

Her intended acquisition, the Philosopher's Stone, was a little harder to play with. While Tom had known a little about alchemy, in that it was something of a mix of disciplines, mainly between Potions and Transfiguration, it didn't quite match either. Dia was able to help in her experiments in the stone, giving wise advise and keeping her from doing something dangerous.

She was able to figure out that putting a Philosopher's Stone within a potion had some sort of effect, and tended to make potion effects last longer. From this principle, she experimented with creating a potion with the stone at the bottom of the cauldron from the beginning of the brewing, and from there she found the effects lasted even longer.

She was also able to use the Philosopher's Stone as a focus. While in most of the wizarding world, Wands had taken up the space of most foci in their society, there used to be a lot more experimentation and variation in magical foci in ancient times. Standardized wands tended to be the most consistant and accurate form of foci, and thus became a standard. But some foci could be used in specialized circumstances and could be better than a wand in certain fields.

In the Philosopher's Stone's case, it could not cast spells like a wand, but it could help her shape things based on her will. She could transfigure a rock by touching a stone to it, though she wasn't able to change the rock into something else other then use was it was and shape it. A bit of reading told her this was a slightly more limited form of transfiguration sometimes called Transmutation. While a wand could be used for such things, for the Philosopher's Stone, it just required will and a touch to the object one desired to change.

She couldn't think of anything immediately useful about this that she couldn't do with transfiguration, and she couldn't even figure out the legendary trick that supposedly allowed the stone to permanently turn other metals into gold.

Thinking on the possible uses of transmutation over transfiguration, Dia had an idea, and Alice turned back to an earlier project Alice had accomplished on her own: her blood magic based variation on alchemical hybrids. Collecting a few small wild animals, Alice returned to the still uncomfortable realm of these blood magic rituals, but this time she experimented on integrating the stone into it.

After a while playing around with these uncomfortable experiments, Alice made a fascinating discovery. The Philosopher's Stone seemed to be capable of not needing a living sacrifice to create it's blood magic chimeras. While she could use the stone as a focus to mechanically splice two creatures together without the ritual as well, she found its ability to be used in rituals much more interesting, and she wondered if Flamel would have ever experimented with it in this direction.

All she needed was a living subject of one species, the blood of another, and the Philosopher's Stone set to do whatever it did. She wondered if the stone was generating its own power, but she wasn't able to figure that one out on her own. She had also hoped to be able to use it to figure out how to make her own stone, but the process of its creation was not so easy that one could just look at the thing and figure it out.

With this, she wouldn't even have to kill anything if she wanted to continue to work on creating new creatures out of magical creatures. "Do you think Megan would mind an upgrade?" asked Dia silkily. She rather enjoyed the experiments, more so then Alice did, because the failures and death of any subjects did not disturb her the way it still sat ill with Alice.

"I'll ask," said Alice. "I won't make it a command, and I'd prefer using other human experiments first." She would rather use some asshole muggles before she used her friend. She would just ask that one allied muggle gang Delirium used for the distribution of its Bliss product if they had any rival gangs they wouldn't mind seeing disappear. Alice might feel for the poor innocent animals on occasion, but she could easily find some muggles she wouldn't be sorry for.

Fourth, Alice's spiritual father was still alive. This was not as immediate a concern, as he had been rendered a spirit and was in hiding, but it was an uncomfortable fact that would stick in her mind.

Fifth, Sirius Black was still in prison, and she did not have a way to hunt down the actual man who deserved to be there.

Sixth, but probably the most problematic, her life as Deliria Lovedoll had gotten rather a lot on her own plate. First, she made up one third of the leadership of what was now officially a magical Mafia that covered Knockturn Alley and was beginning to expand into business ventures in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village quietly. The DMLE was watching them close, but they didn't have enough of anything to start going after the organization as a whole.

They did however start having a case on her. The mess that was her heist of the Philosopher's Stone had mostly ended in success, but Deliria Lovedoll had gotten an official record as a known criminal. While it had not made front page news, thankfully, a couple aurors had stopped by her business center for the Delirium Agency. Since the business was technically under Williams in official documents, he was able to deny that Deliria was his boss and deny any knowledge of any being known as Webby. Alice didn't like that they had decided to define her as a being and not a human child, and wondered if they had guessed that she was a hybrid creature. She would have to be more careful with her friend and walking around publicly as her criminal persona.

Deliria Lovedoll was officially a wanted witch, for the crimes of breaking and entering and thievery. Technically speaking, she had done one of those in her heist at Hogwarts, but she preferred they didn't realize she was a student. The DMLE also suspected her of being part of the rise in organized crime in Knockturn Alley, but they didn't have any evidence of that. Angus Grimly had been able to tell her a little more of what they had, and apparently Department Head Amelia Bones had received a personal memory from Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore, which meant they knew everything.

No news came of Voldemort's appearance in the news either, but Alice supposed they would rather avoid the panic such a thing would likely cause.

Lastly, she had a ton of fan mail to shift through. She was able to send a general 'Thank you, I noticed you' letter to most of the people who had sent mail over the years, and took a personal touch with anyone that either sent her something more interesting or caught her eye. She did at least eye every single piece of mail, despite how overwhelming that really was as she went through hundreds of the things.

She was thankful that Dia's enchantments allowed her to retain information and remember more clearly then without her, and it allowed her to read through fast. There was all sorts of mail, and sometimes Alice decided to share it with her first friends.

"I think this boy has confused you with Father Christmas," noted Olivia. "He sent a list of presents he wants at least three years in a row."

Alice giggled. "I wonder if I could pull that off," she mused.

"So now I am a Christmas Helper Elf?" asked Megan seriously before they all broke up into further giggling.

"You really are quite famous, huh?" asked Olivia thoughtfully. "If they ever knew I used to bully you in school, I think they'd kill me." She looked a little fearful at that.

"I'd flay them alive for trying," said Alice. "You belong to me, and no one threatens my possessions. Or my friends, rather."

Olivia snorted. "You've only become more of a super villain, Mistress."

"Maybe a little," said Alice with a blush. "But your my minions, so no complaining about my megalomania."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Olivia had said with a grin.

"Mistress, if they love you this much, you are going to have a lot of minions by the time you get out of school," said Megan. "This girl here says she would love to join you on all your adventures."

"Oh, Ginny Weasley?" asked Alice, picking out one letter from her 'of interest' pile. Megan nodded in surprise. "She's one of the ones who seems to write to me like a diary. Girl's practically brainwashed with hero worship, it's adorable." She raised her wand over her head and sparks flashed, obscuring herself from the Ministry Trace once more. "Accio Ginny Weasley Letters." A collection of letters began to gather to her, and she fingered through them for a moment. "Seems she'll be coming this year. Poor thing worries I'd just blow her off. Dia, take note to look out for her. I should take more advantage of my fame like this, draw in my future followers." She grinned, and her expression could be perceived as that of a mad genius.

Both of the girls had been told rather quickly about her sister of a Diadem, and by placing the Diadem on their heads Dia was able to introduce herself with her own voice. Alice thought if she didn't have her friends who knew the full depth of what she was really like, she would be less happy as a person most of the time. It was nice to have friends she didn't have to obfuscate herself to.

Thinking of Dia, she was reminded of Dia's idea while putting the letters back down. "Oh, Megan, I was considering modifying you more and adding a few more magical species to you. Would you mind?"

Megan blinked. "More?" she repeated. "You can do more?"

"Yep," she said with a pop of the p. "And I've found out with the Philosopher's Stone, I might not have to kill any other creatures to do it. I want to do a few more tests, before I do anything with you two, but I have ideas."

"I-I can be magical too?" said Olivia with awe, and Alice put a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Yes," she told her with a wide smile. She might have done a little too thorough a job of brainwashing her muggle friends into thinking it was just so much better to be a magical being but… Well, Alice really did believe it was, and if she could elevate them for their loyalty to her, she was going to do it. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to bring magical ability to the whole muggle world or anything, but the special few that earned her favor? Yes, she could manage that.

"Oh, please, that would be amazing," said Olivia dreamily.

"She won't be part house elf, will she?" said Megan, a hint of jealousy.

"No, no, I got different ideas. There's no need to make you both into the same thing, right?" The girls nodded. "Good. Now, there is another issue we might start running into with my experiments, namely that it might get a bit harder to stay in the muggle world."

"Okay," said Olivia, perhaps a little too quickly. Alice started to get a look of concern at how well her brainwashing had gone. She didn't want friends completely devoid of free will, after all. "Alice, you two are my only friends. I don't mind skipping school for you."

Megan bit her lip. "Though I'd like to keep seeing my parents," she murmured, and looked guilty for choosing her own parents. Perhaps Alice had laid her agenda on them a little thick.

"That should be fine," Alice told Megan quickly. "A little mental tinkering and they shouldn't question things." Both girls nodded, and Alice wondered when they got so comfortable with the way Alice really did seem to super villain certain problems away. "Though you'll still at least be homeschooled. It would be best if my minions kept themselves educated." Olivia groaned at that, causing Alice to laugh. "I can't make it too easy on you." She looked at Megan.

When next Alice looked at the Mirror of Erised, she could see her minions looking very different.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The Cursed Crew (the name of Delirium's muggle allies never failed to amuse her) had indeed had a few people they wouldn't mind disappearing without any sign of their involvement, and Deliria Lovedoll had come back out to do it. Kidnapping was incredibly easy for a witch like her, and she needed to practice her Imperius Curse anyways. She always did a quick scan of Legilimency, making sure her victims were worthless enough to not feel guilty about what she was about to do to them.

She did her experiments within the security of the secret hideout next to Borgin and Burke's, after making sure no spirit had tried to make his home here. She would have to start warding her properties against such entities in future, which probably would be a good idea even if Voldemort had not made himself known to her.

After five such muggles were turned into various levels of monstrosity, she discovered that much of the form was based on her own will of what she wanted, though the magic seemed to resist hiding certain features and letting her experiments be completely human in appearance. Most rituals had some sort of cost, and even with the Stone, the cost appeared to be that one of her subjects could never look totally human again.

She left her remaining test subjects in Draight of Living Death-induced stasis, and human test subjects would be far better for further workings with the Stone then animals. And she would feel better about any failures. She felt she would be safe to work with some of her ideas for Megan as long as she could get her hands on the ingrediants needed, though her plans for Olivia might require a few more tests.

Deliria stepped out of the passage and back into Knockturn, her next plans to check on her employees, espeicially the progress of the trainees. She needed to make sure they were up to her standards, and knew who was in charge.

"Deliria Lovedoll," called a voice. Deliria's wand came in hand the instant she heard the man, and spun in his direction in a dueling position, wand over her head and hand in front of her.

"Who's asking?" she demanded sharply.

"He's alone, not an auror," Dia informed her quickly, her current form on Deliria's had being a simple silver circlet with engraved runes.

The man who had come upon her looked to be of east Asian descent, and had grey hair going past his shoulders and a beard and mustache. His style of dress was elegant but foreign in colors of red, gold and black with what looked like a green medallion for a belt buckle. But the thing that told of his abnormality was his cloudy orbs that he had for eyes, showing not even so much as the black of his pupils and making him appear just slightly inhuman.

The man rose his hands up to his sides, showing no wand and putting himself in a rather grand gesture. "I am Shang Tsung," he declared, with only the slightest of accents. "And I have an opportunity you might be interested in."

Alice looked at the man and began to relax herself slightly, though she gave a glance around herself to make sure there weren't any surprises in the area. "Shang Tsung, deceased as of about five hundred and fifty years ago, a chinese sorcerer famous for his expertise in soul magic. He's likely using a fake name in the assumption we wouldn't know it, or he is a descendent of the man." Dia was helpful for picking out random bits of information within their collective brains.

"Shang Tsung," Deliria repeated. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting, considering you are supposedly dead."

"Ah, yes, European books are rather inaccurate when it comes to matters of the East," he declared. "I doubt they even mention the reason I was considered dead was my defeat at the hands of the 'Great' Kung Lao in the Mortal Kombat Tournament." The way the man scowled, Deliria thought he might be applying a true grudge to the name, or was good at weaving a fiction for himself. "Perhaps you have not even heard of the Mortal Kombat Tournament at all."

"It's not a term I am familiar with," Deliria admitted.

"It so happens that I was planning to invite you to it," he told her. "The tournament is held once every fifty years. The greatest fighters in the world gather for the title of Champion."

"It does not sound like my sort of affair," she mused.

"You might be surprised," he said with a smile. "While the European tradition of magic had become rather uniform and stagnant, the same is not true for all the world. There will be things to see that are beyond even your wildest imaginings. But this tournament is about more than a simple test of might. It's about the future of the world."

Deliria let out a snort before laughing. "You might be overselling this a bit, Mister Tsung."

"It is the truth," he stated, and his even tone showed he was not overly annoyed at her disbelief. "The Mortal Kombat Tournament is something of a proxy war, between the Realm of Earth and the Realm of Outworld. Outworld has had nine straight victories, and on the tenth, everything will change."

Deliria would have believed him crazy, but she had dealt with crazy that had spoken of other dimensions before, and most of them were demons of some sort or other. "Is Outworld some sort of Hell world?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing so infernal," Shang Tsung said, and at this point she was starting to think he might actually be who he claimed. "But it is another world, and after achieving this final tournament, the forces of Outworld will be able to invade without interference by the Powers That Be."

Deliria snorted at the Powers That Be, a set of deities that some people believed in that also went under names like the Elder Gods. She held no beliefs in a god of any sort, just wizards and other magical beings that had once fooled the easily manipulated in the distant past. Jesus Christ, after all, was clearly a wizard, even if she doubted accounts of him raising the dead.

This was a belief that came from Alice Potter being told for a long time that 'God' could never love a freak like her, and Tom Riddle's desire to be beholden to no other power greater then himself. The result being Alice Riddle was thoroughly an atheist, but she had remembered Tom hearing plenty of his allies believe in such things. Even Bella seemed to believe in some sort of Neopagan practices, if she recalled correctly.

"Ridiculous," said Dia, agreeing with Deliria's sentiment.

"Invasion, huh?" she mused.

"Yes. The rules are about to change for this world. Those who stand with us will be rewarded for their service, and those who stand against will die." Ah, yes, a classic join us or die speech, Voldemort had delivered several of them. Deliria had even been given such a speech a short time ago, and likely would be giving several herself. It was a Dark Wizard and Witch standard, really.

"Not sure if you are who you say you are, nor speak any sort of truth," she informed him. "But I have a way to find out. Would you mind?" He carelessly gestured for her to continue.

Dia told her that her plan was a bad idea, but Deliria decided to ignore this wisdom as she stared him in the eye and tried out a Soul Gaze. She had practiced it from the book Alice had gotten for Christmas from Lily Moon. Dia was, of course, absolutely right, as this proved to be an utterly horrible idea, and Dia immediately berated her with an "I told you so!"

His soul was a black and decrepit thing, wicked and loveless, but what was utterly disturbing was the mass of souls chained to him. Souls from hundreds upon hundreds of years of collecting, each used to sustain him and stave off the curse on his body and render him immortal. Truth be told, even to Alice who knew a little about delving into Soul Magic, found the view she would never forget of this man horrifying.

"A lovely bunch of snakes, Deliria Lovedoll," he informed her, and his smile did not waiver. Utter confidence in his own power showed in his fearlessness before her souls. In fact, despite his eyes showing no particular emotion, she felt a sudden feeling of hunger lingering from them as he continued to stare into her eyes, lusting after her souls.

"This man is dangerous," Dia told her needlessly.

"I'm interested in this invitation," Deliria said, while schooling her features into an impassive mask.

 **To Be Continued in Deliria Lovedoll and the Mortal Kombat Tournament…**


	23. Chapter 23 - Monsters

**_NOTE:_** _So, I know not everyone was into the Crossover, and skipped it. There are likely not to be many crossover elements for a while, but there are a couple developments that happened in that crossover that I feel I should point out for those who decided to skip it. First, Alice has begun to develop a sexual interest and is attracted to girls. Second, Deliria Lovegood's wand, the one she got off of Scabior, was broken, so she'll likely be getting a new one. Third, Alice learned how to fly without a broom, like Voldemort does in the books. She can't do so for long since it's draining to her magical stamina, but it's important to keep note of. Fourth, she kidnapped a new minion for herself. If you don't know who Mileena is from Mortal Kombat, don't worry too much about not knowing much about her, just be warned that there is a new woman who's probably going to be working for Deliria Lovedoll and not entirely willingly, either._

 **Chapter 23**

 **Monsters**

Knockturn Alley had changed in the months since the Triumvirate had taken over, and it wasn't a bad kind of change either. While Knockturn Alley would always be meant to appeal to those on the dark side of the magical world, it was no longer quite so unwelcoming and grimy in appearance. It still had a dark and dangerous feel most of the time, but the streets were clean, and the businesses were booming.

Deliria Lovedoll walked down the alley before she went back home, and enjoyed seeing how different things were. She passed by a few prostitutes trying to sell their bodies, and flushed at what she was offered at a decent price. She wasn't even a teenager yet on the inside, but ever since figuring out there was a reason she always seemed to prefer gathering girls closer to her then boys, she was starting to feel like one.

Tom Riddle hadn't really had that problem growing up, because he never found anyone particularly attractive. He got his jollies out of feelings of power and domination rather then who he had any power over and was dominating at the time. While Alice Riddle shared some of those traits, she apparently had not gotten his lack of interest in other people as objects of affection. She wasn't entirely sure how to deal with that long term, but in the short term, she caught herself staring and fantasizing far too often.

The mix of young hormones and Voldemort's memories made her fantasies far more detailed then a child her physical age should be capable of. But while she had an avenue with which to explore such things, Dia had decided to pop any bubbles by suggesting they do research on any magical properties of virginity and rituals based on virginity before she allowed herself to lose such a thing in a bout of lust. Deliria groaned but gave into the wisdom and tried to avoid staring at pretty girl's and thinking wondrous yet tortuous thoughts. She wasn't here for that anyways.

She was here for a new wand, and truth be told, this had probably been a long overdue problem. The wand she had taken from Scabior had done well enough, she supposed, but it would never be as good as a wand that called to be in her hands. Now, as Alice, she had such a wand, but she could not have her two public personas be seen carrying the same wands. While some people didn't pay that much attention, she knew people like Moody and Dumbledore would spot it a mile away, and unlike Dia the Diadem, there was no transfiguring it to look different. Wands didn't like to be modified, and any illusory glamour could be seen through by an eye like the Mad-Eye had. It would be best if Deliria and Alice continued to have two separate wands.

The issue of replacing Scabior's old wand had been brought to the forefront by a certain Princess snapping it. So, Deliria would get her own, but she wouldn't be doing it around Ollivander, the man had too keen an insight into people and might recognize her, glamour or no. While Ollivander was known to be the best wand maker in Britain, if tied for best in Europe overall, there were a few lesser wandmakers here and there, and one of them lived in Knockturn Alley.

Deliria walked through the door of one of the shops, and there were rows of wands. Faramir Farley's Fabulous Foci was one of the nicer shops owned by a half-blood with a great enthusiasm for his craft, but only a middling skill, due to being more experimental with his wand cores and occasionally less magical wand woods then Ollivander had shipped in. He also liked to experiment with less used foci then modern wizards tended to use, and spent most of the money he had on holidays to study more and more about ancient foci before the wand took over in popularity.

There were shelves of wands, Deliria looked in fascination at some of his alternative foci. Rings, amulets, scrolls, each more limited than the last, but there was a bit of interest in the methods of the past. "A customer!" called the voice of an enthusiastic twenty nine year old wand maker from behind a desk, where behind him were displayed some rarer old foci he had collected on his journeys. The man would never be very wealthy with competition like Ollivander around the corner, but he apparently made enough to pay off the gangs from stealing from him.

"Yes," Deliria began. "I find myself in need of a wand. Someone broke my previous one."

"Bit of rough business, eh? Well worry not, I'm sure we can find you a good replacement. I'm not quite the match-maker that Ollivander is, I'm afraid, but have a look around. I recommend closing your eyes and trying to feel one of them calling to you. Don't be afraid to try a few. It could take a while to find a good fit."

That was one reason other wand makers simply didn't do as good as Ollivander. He was able to match a wand to people. While he had a few tough customers on occasion most of the time people only ever tried one or two wands before they found a good match. Farley, on the other hand, may simply never have a proper match and couldn't seem to read people and get close to their needs quickly. Some of the other great wand makers preferred to make a wand specific to their individual customers, and only a few ever mastered the ability to make wands that would eventually fit someone. Some of Farley's wands would never fit anyone.

Still, Deliria had a look around. The boxes of wands on the shelves were helpfully labeled with materials used for core and wood. She could not help but giggle at a few of the more eccentric ideas the man came up with for wand cores, like Golden Snidget feathers and became fairly intrigued off the wall ideas like demon claws and vampire fangs. "How did you even get these?"

"Legally, I swear," he lied innocently. Deliria laughed. Knockturn Alley had a real character to it, and the people who found their way there amused her at times.

Deliria had to spend a while there, as manually trying to find a wand that matched her when she actually already had a matched wand was difficult, and quickly Deliria knew she would rather have a wand that wouldn't resist her. She had enough skill to use any wand well enough, but Scabior's wand she had won the loyalty of in battle, and none of this would be similarly won over. She could force them to obey, but she could feel the resistance that Alice's holly and phoenix feather never gave her.

"Second wands are tough," she sighed.

"Alternative foci are less finicky about that sort of thing," said Farley. "Wands and staves are practically alive, and very specific in their desired witches and wizards, but other foci tend to be less picky."

"They also have more limits," Deliria replied.

"True, but there's nothing like a surprise second option in a pinch," he said. Rather decent businessman, Deliria mused as she considered making an additional purpose when she found herself a new wand.

She went through several materials, favoring birds and snakes to begin with. She had figured that since her first wand was phoenix feather, other birds might call to her, but the thunderbird did not seem to want her, the Snidget was too weak, and the Griffin too challenging to rule over long term. The snakes similarly appealed to her due to her nature as a Parselmouth, but Runespoor venom was a no go, nor was Occamy feather for her.

"Selma scale?" she murmured.

"Norwegian lake serpent," he told her. "Rather vicious temperament, and they are known to hunt human. Muggles think they're related to that Kelpie over at Loch Ness that keeps getting their attention."

"How'd you get a hold of it?" The man had very few rare creature parts, and he had a total of three phoenix feather wands that it had obviously taken him a while to get a hold of. Selma were fairly rare.

"I know a bloke in the reservation," he told her simply, and wouldn't go into further detail. So another illegal deal then. The woes of a lesser wand maker, good materials were hard to come by the legal way.

Deliria tried it, and found that the wand didn't resist her as stiffly. It didn't give her the warm feeling of her phoenix wand, but it felt curiously interested in her. It was as good a match as she was likely to find. Selma scale and Ebony, twelve and a quarter inches, it had a curved handle that fit nicely in her hand. Suited to combat, Deliria imagined, and thus, good for her purposes.

"This seems like a good one," she commented, as her eyes fell about the rest of the shop curiously. It had been long enough that Deliria thought she could hold out any interest in procuring a few alternatives for herself at a later date. Besides, she already had one alternative focus she was interested in working on in the Philosopher's Stone, and she had yet to unlocked all of its secrets.

She paid the man thirteen galleons for it, as it was one of his rarer wand cores, and set off back into the alley. She began to walk towards Borgin and Burkes, but went passed it and towards her hidden hideaway. She had already stopped here when she had gotten home, and dropped off her prisoner, but now it was time to redo the wards. She had been allowed to learn she had a weakness in the wards of this particular hideaway, and was quick to rectify this now that she had a wand in hand.

Sliding into the entrance, she was greeted by a hissing snake. "~Please turn me back,~" hissed the Pretty Princess, who did not appreciate being a limbless creature crawling on her belly. Deliria giggled, and rather enjoyed the sense of power and authority over her fate.

She should kidnap people more often, really.

"~Now Mileena, that is hardly the proper way to beg your Mistress for a gift,~" Deliria replied.

The python squirmed in embarrassment but quickly relented. "~Please, Mistress,~" she asked.

"Better," Deliria said in English before turning her new wand on the snake and reversing the transfiguration. The python shifted into a woman who quickly pushed herself off the ground and growled. "Now, now, Mileena, don't ruin the moment and force me to punish you again," she warned. "You've nowhere else to go, and only me to trust. There's no more home to return to."

"Trust my kidnapper?"

"First, you tried to nab me first, turnabout is fair play," Deliria admonished. "Second, you know next to nothing about my world, but a few people know about you. Better to trust me, who likes dark creatures like you, then Albus Dumbledore, who remembers you trying to eat people."

Mileena growled but offered no other resistance, her shoulders slumped. To be honest, the girl had gone through a severe life change, kidnapped, transfigured for hours, and being forced to kill a loyal servant of her father under the Imperius curse. It was a lot to take in.

Deliria took in her captive herself. A beautiful body that was well muscled for combat, wearing lose pink garments that did not leave much to the imagination, pretty black hair and gorgeous golden eyes that held a certain animalistic viciousness that Deliria found appealing, even if those slitted pupils showed her to be not quite human. Her face mask hid her most inhuman feature a wider mouth and positively intimidating fangs that could rip through human flesh all too easily.

Deliria found this bit of inhumanity did not destroy her appeal though, which did not help her inner preteen that squirmed in her mind just looking at her and imagining things. "Look me in the eye, Mileena, and answer a few questions for me. First, what do you eat and drink? Is human flesh a need or more a preference?"

"Preference," she replied. "Any meat will do, really."

"Good," Deliria said. "We can keep human as a special treat, then." She did, after all, have a few humans in this very room, though currently transfigured and put away so as to avoid having her experimental fodder not be eaten while she was away. Deliria had no compunctions about feeding a few of the more worthless muggles in the world to her pet… whatever exactly Mileena was.

"There are a few rules while you are here that shall be followed. One, you will follow my orders when given. Two, I have another servant in charge of feeding you while you're here, if you attempt to eat her, I will punish you most severely." Deliria's eyes flashed red as she said this. No one was harming her first friend, that was for damn sure. "Three, you are confined here until I can teach you your place in my organization."

"I know how to serve," Mileena said with some bitterness.

"Sure, but I don't best know how to use you," Deliria replied. "I didn't enter that tournament expecting to kidnap a beautiful princess and bring her home to serve me. These things just sort of happen, and while I know you are a skilled fighter, it might take a bit more work before I let you out in public. And we'll need to get you new clothes, that outfit would give the average wizard a heart attack." Deliria laughed at the thought. The wizarding world was rather conservative in its fashion sense.

Mileena did not look happy. "Will I have to dress in your… robes? They seem so… concealing." Deliria thought Mileena's own outfit a touch too revealing, but couldn't seem to voice that opinion.

"I'm sure we'll find a happy middle ground for your comfort level," she eased. "Least if you stick to my good graces. Now, much as I'd like to trust you to be good immediately, we'll have to spend some time being cautious together. Petrificus totalus." Mileena looked ready to jump away, but too late as the spell hit her and she became as stiff as a board. "Now stay right there while I greet a friend."

Deliria looked around and called for, "Webby!"

Megan Webb, part house elf and first friend of Alice Riddle, came in with a loud crack and practically tackled Deliria with a hug. "Mistress, your back!" she squeaked gratefully. Deliria supposed she must have been worried when she couldn't pop in to see her for nearly a week, as the force of that hug would have knocked her over if she hadn't still been glamoured into an adult form.

"Yes, I am, sorry to worry," she said.

"What happened? Did you win? I bet it was a spectacular adventure."

"I didn't win, but I didn't die," Deliria replied. "Made some friends, and brought one home with me. Webby, meet Princess Mileena, my friendly new prisoner."

Megan turned and quirked her head at the woman who was obviously magiced into stillness. "A real princess? … We are actually kidnapping princesses now?"

"Yes, I become more stereotypical a villain with every passing day," Deliria admitted with some embarrassment. Just how well she fit the mold of villains in muggle fiction sometimes made her stop and think about things. But then, Mileena wasn't the standard sort of fairy tale princess getting locked in a dungeon. The woman killed and ate people. "She's a real princess, and she intended to kidnap and enslave me, so I figured to return the favor when things went my way instead. She needs to eat meat and have fresh water every day, which you will be in charge of. She's not a helpless damsel, so be careful with her."

"Yes, Mistress," Megan replied quickly with a nod. "She's staying here, then?"

"For now. She won't be able to escape here on her own, and it will take time for me to trust her anywhere else."

"Understood. This is going to be a hell of a story, huh, Mistress?"

"Yes, I dare say it will be."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Alice finally took her glamour off back at the Dursley's house, which felt odd after spending days as a Deliria. She wasn't used to how small she was, and it took a while to even walk around and get a feel for her own body again. While she did that, though, she had Megan and Olivia over and explained all about her little adventure.

Well, not everything. Alice found it a little awkward to mention how beautiful she found the woman, or the details of what exactly Mileena would have done with her new acquisition if things had gone south. They might be the friends she told almost everything too, but they were still young in mind and body. Hell, Alice didn't even know when girls normal girls started to consider these things, and she was not sure how to explain ideas like sexual preference right now.

"It sounds like you barely made it," Megan said, with a touching note of concern. Alice smiled at that.

"It was a bit more then I should have taken on, really, but it worked out," Alice confirmed. "I plan to take the next few years easier than this. My skill might be Dark Lady level, but my power is in rather severe need to grow out the natural way. I'm just not capable of holding out in a long term brawl the way I will be as an adult." As much as she wanted to do as Deliria Lovedoll, Alice did understand that a few grander ideas needed to be taken slower.

"Wish we could have helped," said Olivia. "I'd have loved to have seen some of that. Werewolves and vampires, fighting…" The girl grinned dreamily. "Sounds so cool."

Well, my work with the stone is bearing some fruit," Alice told them. "My tests are going well, and soon…" Alice grinned. "Soon you'll be capable of joining my in such adventures, my friends. I promise." Alice had a gleam of experimental magic in her eyes as she planned the final stages that would change them forever. Both her friends smiled back at her, ever eager at this promised transformation.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

When Alice had solidified her idea, and played a little bit more with her experiments, she had at last decided to follow through with her promises, though she had to do some work on procuring her ingredients. She wouldn't tell her little darling minions that she hadn't quite trusted the process enough to allow them to be the first to become the creatures she intended to make them into, but she did dispose of the successful tests so they would be the only ones alive in the world.

Megan was still slightly iffy, as she had already been modified from a baseline human, but Alice thought it wouldn't make too much of a difference, and her plan for Olivia required a bit more work to accomplish and prepare for. She really hoped this worked as she intended it to.

It was the night of the full moon, and the air was warm in mid-July, and Alice was alone with Megan and Olivia in the woods. Technically, this was a dangerous idea in magical areas, since werewolves were a real issue to deal with, but Alice had warded the perimeter of her ritual areas so no rogue wolves would find their way in.

"Before we begin, Olivia, I will give you one last moment to consider before you lose your humanity forever."

"I'm ready," Olivia said immediately without hesitation.

Alice smiled and nodded. "Good. Now, I know Megan probably already warned you about this part, but rituals are weird, and often require you to be naked for the duration of them."

Olivia nodded and seemed quick to comply, eager excitement practically shining off of her in the light of the moon. Megan quickly followed suit, as did Alice herself, undressing herself in all but the Locket of Slytherin and the Diadem of Ravenclaw, which were as much a part of her as her own body at this point, even if Dia was still something like a split personality.

This ritual took a bit of set up, as Deliria made three linked circles of blood, some blood from her intended ingrediants, herself, and the last bit added from Megan and Olivia themselves to seal the deal. The three girls then sat in the three circles, while Alice set the Philosopher's Stone in the middle of the three of them. It began to glow red and fought against the moonlight.

"My friends, my servants, my precious pets," Alice declared, more comfortable with the idea of her friends being bound to her in service then she had been when she had accidentally given Megan a house elf bond to her. Megan was comfortable in her role, and Olivia had begun this whole journey being brainwashed into service. "A great gift upon you both for your faith and loyalty in me. Olivia King and Megan Webb, may you ascend beyond the confines of mankind and know the wonder of magical beasts great and terrible. May the blood of the many become your own, and grow you into powerful beasts of might and magic!" She slammed her hands down upon the stone, which burst in red light that washed away their vision of each other.

Megan recognized the burning feeling of her body changing, but from Olivia's scream she knew it might be even worse for her. Still, it was something the little girl would never be used to as her body began to shift and contort into some new wonder her Mistress had shaped her into.

Alice, meanwhile, did not experience near as much drain as she had in her first ritual with Megan. The Philosopher's Stone seemed to offset some of the cost, or so she had found in her experiments. Still, she didn't quite like the discomfort she brought upon her friends, and the screams and moans and howls she listened to. She knew it would end soon enough, though.

When the stone's light faded, Alice stared in wonder at her two new creations. There were two things within their ritual circles that were the same between each other, but the two creatures looked very different from one another. The blood of Alice had been to give Alice the scent of kin, and keep any new predatory instincts that rose up a reason to not view Alice as a threat, or worse, prey. Next, there was a bit of Kelpie, which would help them keep some of their new traits secret in the muggle world, as Kelpies were marvelous shapeshifters.

This would get useful quickly, as neither girl looked human anymore, though for Olivia, that would not last the whole night Kelpie blood or not. Megan's brown hair and eyes had become black, and her fingernails shared this darkening as they became sharper. She looked down at those hands, and traced new fangs in her mouth with her tongue, before she noticed the thin bony tail twitching from the bottom of her back. This brought another new feature to her attention.

"I have wings," she said wonderously. Great black wings did indeed come out of her back, and were the most obvious new feature to have come from another creature. They were the wings of a Thestral, as was the tail.

"You always wanted to fly," Alice reminded her, grinning. Megan's eyes widened before she shrieked in delight and jumped upon her best friend, hugging her tightly. "Ack! Watch it! New muscles, you're stronger than before."

"Sorry, Mistress," Megan replied sheepishly before letting go. After her own wonder at her new body, she next took a look at Olivia and gasped.

"Yeah, not as big as I was going for, but big enough, surely," Alice said. "That might be because she's younger. How're you doing, Olivia?"

Olivia was not even a humanoid currently, and was very big, perhaps a touch bigger than a horse. She stood on all fours, and resembled a blonde wolf with pretty dragon eyes, horns, tongue and wings. Her tail had spikes on the end of it as it waved back and forth. She howled at the moon before looked down at her friends and rolling her tongue out like an excited puppy.

"She's… a werewolf?" Megan asked.

"Werewolf blood was involved," Alice confirmed. "And dragon blood, too. Add that to the list of uses, Albus." Alice looked very pleased with herself. "And a dash of sphinx to keep her human intelligence. Or mostly human intelligence, I suppose. And a bit of me so that she won't want to eat me. Neither of you want to eat me, right?"

Both girl and wolf monsters shook their heads in the negative.

"Good, I'll call that a success," Alice declared. "Now, I think the full transformation will only be possible at the full moon, but a bit of Kelpie should help her in smaller transformations outside of it. Should make the moonlight transformations easier on the body, too. You have a bit of Kelpie yourself, Megan."

"What else?" the little girl asked in wonder.

"Well, Thestral for the wings and tail," she began. "A bit of troll for increased muscle mass, and some acromantula, because I could not resist allowing 'Webby' to actually be capable of spinning webs."

"… I'm Spidergirl?"

Alice paused. "Yes. Though the web should come out of your tail, not your wrists. You have some paralyzing venom too."

"Awesome," she whispered wondrously. Alice was quite proud that her changes made them both rather happy and excited.

"Now, since you both have some things to get used to, and we have this part of the forest to ourselves, I think it would be best if you both go used to your new selves, right?"

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next few days had proved interesting for Alice's friends, who did find that there was a huge difference in how they viewed other people. "… My parents smell delicious," Megan told Olivia. She was currently keeping to a human visage, which took her some effort to maintain with her willpower, especially when she longed to just take to the air again and fly free.

"Okay, glad I am not the only one suffering that," Olivia replied. When the full moon night ended, she had reverted back into full human completely, but a bit of practice had quickly allowed her to assume some of her wolfish traits. She could even look more like a movie werewolf if she tried. And she could blow out puffs a fire, though Alice had warned her from playing around with fire too much. "It's controllable long as I'm not hungry, but it is weird feeling like… like…"

"People are prey?" Megan completed. "It's so weird. And I never used to eat so much meat."

"It's delicious though. Makes me wonder what human tastes like…"

"Yeah," Megan replied dreamily. "Does that make us monsters?"

"Sure," said Olivia. "The monstrous minions of a Dark Lady." Olivia had a wolfish grin.

"She's corrupted us so badly," Megan said, but not unfondly. It was amazing how much a little girl could grow to be comfortable with when Alice was her best friend. "Let's just make sure to be careful around people for a while. Don't want any accidents bringing us trouble, or a moment's hunger making us regret something we can't take back. If you have an emergency hunger attack, call me."

"Right," Olivia confirmed.

 ** _NOTE:_** _So, these ideas for Megan and Olivia were made before the fic was being written, back when this was just an idea in my head. I'm trying to keep them from being overpowered monsters, but my mental image of these two made it impossible to avoid this idea. Call it silly and overpowered if you wish, but I've seen weirder ideas and concepts in fanfiction so I won't be too embarrassed with mine._


	24. Part 2 Chapter 24 - Missing Mail Mystery

**Part 2**

 **Alice Riddle and the Riddle Diary**

 **Chapter 24**

 **The Missing Mail Mystery**

Alice found herself waking up on her birthday and only barely remembering that it was her birthday. She had been rather busy, what with the rituals, the research, the taming process of Mileena, and more, but now as she looked at her owl, Circe, sitting on her perch she began to realize something strange she had not taken notice of while she was busy.

"Has there been no mail all summer, girl?" she asked the owl, who hooted in a way that Alice assumed meant negative. That was rather strange. While she had told her school friends that she planned to be a bit busy over the summer, she hadn't expected them to not send her even one letter. Stranger still, she now should have been receiving fan mail, and from the older fanmail she, Megan and Olivia had sorted gave her the impression that a lot of it tended to come on her birthday or Halloween, respectively.

While a normal little girl might have taken this to mean something else, like maybe her friends didn't like her or some such nonsense, Alice's mind immediately conceived that someone was stealing her mail, and if they were intercepting it one way, they might intercept it another. "Circe, my sweet, I'm afraid I have to ask you to serve as bait," she told the owl.

Alice rarely left her room through the door anymore. She was too used to apparating to and from her destinations to worry about that, and the less she saw the Dursleys the better, really, but she thought she might should get a bit of spare paper.

"Girl," came Uncle Vernon's voice, and the tone immediately made her frown. It was a tone of command, one she had not heard from him in a while, and one she had hoped he had been broken out of. "You are-"

Alice began to use her newly developed skill of self-sustained flight to float up to his eye level, her wand snapping to her hand before waving it over her head and ensuring no Ministry Trace would get even a moment's hint of her doing anything outside the law. "Uncle Vernon, do you wish to make a request of me?"

The way his eyes snapped down at the space between herself and the floor and back to her in shock made Alice want to laugh. "I…" He paused, and then seemed to be mentally psyching himself up. Deliria rolled her eyes and sent a quiet tripping jinx at him, causing him to fall over comicly.

"You have forgotten the proper order of things, Muggle, and I will remind you where we stand. You do not call me Girl or Freak, you call me Lady Potter or Mistress." A quick wingardium leviosa, and the man was hovering in the air helplessly, and a silencing spell quieted his yells of shock and fear. "You do not make demands of me, you make requests, and only when I allow you to."

She dropped him on his backside and let out a girlish giggle at the living tub of lard. "Now, do not pester me for the rest of the day, I have business to take care of." The man was flushed, and a glimpse into his eyes saw that his bout of rebellion had not yet been tamed back into submission. She frowned at his willfulness. "Oh, uncle, what am I to do with you," she mused. "I let you live, I let you go about your life, and yet you seek to earn my wrath? You dull fool, did you think I would be less dangerous now then I was at seven?"

The urge to kill him and be done with it came to mind, but Dia kept her wise and well-reasoned. She still had the eyes of Dumbledore to worry about, and things would be troubling for an Alice Potter with no legal living guardians even if he didn't figure out that she had caused such a disappearance. She sighed. "Punishment, then," she said.

Her mind went wild with malice, but she knew she wouldn't use anything too dark that could get traced. Alice Potter's wand could never show signs of an Unforgiveable ever being used with it, just in case. But she could get more creative, and she had been playing with transfiguration lately. "Let's see… a toad? Stereotypical. I don't want you to be a snake though, too noble an animal for you. Perhaps… A pig? Yes, the Circe specialty sounds appealing."

She waved her wand over him and the man was transfigured into a pig, and then she finished with a cursed seal upon the transfiguration. "The transfiguration will undo itself when the sun sets tomorrow, little piggy." The pig looked panicked and looked like it was squealing, but the silencing spell still held onto him no matter his form. "The next time you peeve me off, dear uncle, you might remember that if I was crueler, I could make this permanent, and send you off to a slaughter house, maybe even feed you to the family." She smiled at the cruel promise.

She landed down and walked to the kitchen, where Aunt Petunia looked petrified. "Heard that, aunt?" she asked. Despite a lack of response, Alice merely smiled. "Good. Remember it well, or you might find yourself in a similarly unpleasant state. Whatever business your husband had, best to cancel it for him while he's unavailable."

She hummed pleasantly as she walked past the woman and found a pen and paper for notes, writing down a quick note to Hermione and then hurrying back to her room. "Megan," she called, and with a crack the girl appeared, her wings hidden away but tail swaying behind her. Alice was still rather proud of her achievements every time she caught a hint of the new creature she had changed her friend into.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"I'm having some mail trouble, namely, I am lacking mail on my birthday. I think we might have a problem, and I was hoping you might follow Circe and make sure no one is stealing my mail."

"And if I find anyone?" she asked, and the hint of fangs in her smile made Alice have a sense of glee. She had loved her friends before, but she could not help but enjoy the new predatory characteristics that had appeared in them since the ritual. She liked her pet predators.

"Try to capture them if you can, but if you can't, come back to me and give me details. Trust your instincts and don't put yourself in too much danger if it turns out to be a group or someone who you might not be able to take out quickly. Bring them back to me, intact, and then I'll decide what to do after interrogating them. "

"It shall be done," Megan said cheerfully, and then ripped open the back of her shirt to let her wings form and take shape. She looked rather happy to have the excuse to fly around.

"Circe," she said to the owl. "Take this to Hermione, but if you get interrupted on the trip, let Megan handle the rough stuff and come right back here." The owl trilled at her and stuck out it's claw, taking the note given to her and flying off. "Be careful."

"Will do, Mistress, be back before you know it," she said, and jumped out the window after the owl. Some people might notice her at a distance, but Muggles dismissed sightings of such 'cryptids' all the time, so Alice wasn't too worried, and looking out the window she could see no one around at the moment to look and pointing. That was a good sign.

"I should get her new clothes made to let her wings out," Alice mused and plotted her next Christmas presents early.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It would be a few hours before Megan returned with Circe, but she had a pile of mail, Megan looked rather upset and with no living creature in her claws, Alice already knew things had ended in failure. "I'm sorry, Mistress," she said immediately, landing in the window and staying there, looking ashamed.

"It's alright, Megan, you at least found my mail. What happened?"

"A House Elf appeared," she said. "He tried to take the mail from Circe, but I stopped him. Pretty sure it was a boy elf. He apparated away as soon as he could, and I couldn't follow. Found where he was hiding the male though."

Alice frowned at this bit of mystery. "A house elf?" she repeated. "That's… odd. Perhaps some rich brat is trying to play a prank on me."

"Maybe," she said. "I wasn't able to get much out of him before he vanished. He was rather quick to get away from me." She still looked so disappointed at her failure.

"It's alright, Megan," she repeated. "I'm not mad, and you did just fine. Besides, you probably scared him off attempting this again, hopefully. You do look something like a demon nowadays."

Megan giggled slightly. "I guess I'm intimidating for a house elf, huh?" she repeated.

"You'd be intimidating to anyone, Megan. Even if your shorter than any adult, most people wouldn't want to mess with you now, and that's without understanding just what you are capable of. From muggle to masterpiece, you are a wonder."

Megan grinned with renewed pride and joy, her eager personality that had sought her out as a child still shining despite how much she had changed since. Still, this mystery would be on Alice's mind for a while yet, but rather than be consumed by it, she started to read her mail a bit late, and open her birthday presents.

Her favorite was a photo album sent by Hagrid that contained the only pictures of James and Lily Potter she had ever seen. "That is why I like him," she mused happily.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

After a bit of catching up with her mail, Alice had sent some replies to her friends explaining that she was having mail problems that had been solved, which turned out to be true when she got their collective replies. It seemed that the mysterious house elf had either given up or had been told to stop after getting caught, because she didn't have any more mail trouble. In fact, her book list had come the very next day, and Alice would be preparing for another trip to Diagon Alley.

A bit of mail, and she was able to make a reunion of it, as all three of her Hogwarts friends were available to meet up with her and shop together. Alice would of course come alone, as not only did she have no desire to show her aunt and uncle off to the Wizarding World, but her little punishment had gotten the household to hide from her like their lives depended on it, and it likely would eventually depend on their ability to stay off Alice's radar once she was old enough to not care anymore about using them as cover.

She arrived at the Leaky Cauldron first, and waited. Lily Moon arrived first, accompanied by her parents. Alice avoided their eyes, as she did not want to be perceived by anyone else the way that Lily had already. The Granger family had come in next, followed quickly by Eris, her uncle and her cousin, Draco. There was a touch of discomfort then, as Lucius Malfoy was not the sort that liked to find himself in the company of muggles but he wasn't too fast to be rude either. Instead, he made for a quick exit. "I have other business in the alley today besides school shopping, I trust you will be able to keep an eye out for the children?" He directed that to the Moon family specifically, and after confirmation had gone off, and Draco had followed in toe.

"Busy man, I suppose," asked Mr. Granger, apparently sensing some of Lucius Malfoy's standoffish attitude towards him.

"Uncle Lucius is always pretty busy," Eris replied diplomatic, unable to avoid eyeing the muggles like they were escaped animals in the zoo. Alice rolled her eyes, as while she was of a low opinion of muggles in general, she at least understood them enough to know they weren't the barely above animals that most purebloods tended to believe they were.

Hermione decided to ignore the oddities of her snakeish friends to get right to a problem that had been bugging her. "So what kind of problem were you having with your mail, Alice?" she asked curiously, and the other two witches joined in the curious stares.

"Strangest thing, actually," Alice said, deciding to be truthful. If this was some pureblood's prank, her Slytherin friends would be more likely to figure out who did it then she would be on her own without more clues. "A house elf was hiding my mail. As soon as I caught him, he ran off quick and the problems stopped. I figure someone sent him as a prank, but all I know was that he was male and a house elf. Don't know his name or who he belonged to."

"Never heard of anyone doing that before," Eris said curiously. "House elves are meant for house work, not pulling pranks. Maybe the Weasleys got a hold of one and those twins sent it off."

"I doubt that," Lily said. "The twins prefer something more immediate and something to laugh off. Mail theft isn't their thing at all, unless they accompanied it with replacing the mail with prank mail or something."

"Sorry for the usual muggleborn ignorance here, but what's a house elf?"

Alice had a feeling that the full extent of that answer would upset the rather justice-minded lion, so Alice decided on a simple answer with very few details. "You know the story of the Cobbler and the Elves? Those are house elves, they just do more than help with shoes, generally. More like Wizarding Butlers for wealthy families."

"Oh, interesting," Hermione said, but an echo of the same words came out of her mother's mouth.

Their first stop as a group would be at Gringotts, and as the Grangers had never been down to the vaults, that little ride was fun. Mr. Granger seemed to enjoy the cart ride down, and compared it to a roller coaster, which Alice knew of but had never actually experienced herself, and likely wouldn't be impressed. She probably flew faster than any such muggle amusement ride would ever be able to take her.

"I don't understand the exchange rates," she heard the male Doctor Granger say. "They know gold is worth more than that, right?"

"The goblins do, but it's been a flat exchange rate for over a hundred years, and Purebloods are ignorant about changes in the muggle economy."

"Has it changed much?" asked Eris curiously.

"Case in point," Alice grinned, before putting some gold in a pouch and exiting her vault. The Moon Vault was of moderate standing for the wizarding world, but Alice felt her heart begin to rush at the Lestrange Vault, as it seemed Eris preferred to pay for her own books.

There were gasps from everyone but Eris, and Alice was gasping at something else entirely from the rest of them as her eyes locked on to a certain cup. "Your family were quite wealthy, huh?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Top ten wealthiest before the war, now closer to top thirteen, I think," Eris confirmed.

"It would be very hard to get another opportunity to attain that cup," said Dia, hidden in plain sight in the guise of a simple green hairband.

"What's that cup?" she asked curiously, not knowing if Eris would have even the slightest clue.

"Don't know what most of this stuff is, to be honest," said Eris. "But it probably has curses or something on it, so I wouldn't touch it."

"Why would they curse it?"

"My mother was a Black first, and the Blacks were known to guard their property with extra cursed objects kept near the valuables to punish would be thieves." Alice stared at the cup with an urge to grasp at it building, but she couldn't think of a good way to ask if she could. Eris started to give her a funny look. "What's so interesting about it?"

"Just caught my eye for some reason," she replied.

"Used to catch mine when I came here last year," Eris told her. "Might be some minor compulsion charm. Like I said, don't touch it, just in case."

"Right," said Alice with a sigh. Outside of stealing the thing in front of them all and obliviating the memory out of each of them, Alice didn't have a way to just take it right now, and with their goblin escort and friendships on the line, that decision could turn out very bad very fast.

At least the trip served as a reminder that having her pseudo-sister's trust and loyalty was high on the priority list. That or bust Bellatrix Lestrange out of prison and use her for the task, but she was still a ways off from being able to break into Azkaban.

Once that business was concluded, the group moved to shopping, which quickly hit a snag when it came to the bookstore. "Lockhart book signing," Eris stated. "It will likely be this crowded all day."

"A shame the majority of our shopping list is books, and specifically, the Lockhart collection is on that list," said Alice. "What a hassle."

The hassle had only gotten worse when during the signing, Lockhart seemed to take notice. Alice tensed when she was pulled in, but relaxed when she saw a camera and acted very polite while he made a little show out of her happening by to announce he was becoming the Dark Arts Professor. While some people seemed to delighted, some of his fans looked worried for the man. Considering the last man at the job had died, they had good reason to worry. Ol' Tom's curse was running strong decades and showed no signs of stopping.

"Can't even go into a bookstore without making the front page, Potter?" drawled Malfoy, who apparently had returned with his father from their business. He seemed to find the whole thing funny.

"That's the price of fame," Alice replied with a shrug.

There seemed to be some scuffle in the store shortly after that, but Alice had missed exactly what had happened from her view point. It took a while longer for them to actually leave the store. "He's a fraud," Lily whispered in her ear.

"Is he?" replied Alice. "Must be a decent one to not have anyone notice before now. I was hoping he was just shamelessly invested in his fame and book sales."

"He has a talent with Mind Magic," said her father calmly. Now that was worth keeping in mind, and keeping cautious around. She also now knew her father was the one who Lily got her perceptive gift from.

"Thanks for the warning," Alice said, giving Lily a slight smile.

Lily smiled back until their eyes met, where she flinched. "You've gotten scarier, Alice," she whispered even quieter.

"Only to enemies," she promised, patting her shoulder and giving her a keep it quiet gesture with a finger in front of her lips. The girl nodded. That perception was rather dangerous, but it was better to keep that skill close and on her side, even if it meant having one friend more intimidated then truly loyal. That was something to work on this coming year.


End file.
